Jesse Webb is the kernel of The Final Age, with New Hallucinations his second album under this name. A drummer of renown in various pockets of the UK musical underground since the decade before last, with much of his reputation forged in Bristol (he now lives in Hebden Bridge), in this guise he proves himself very able to commandeer a project, with this record’s nine songs featuring the input of twelve other musicians.
It’s a great and tangible ‘drummer’s album’, more so than the previous Final Age LP from 2018, but should still have much to appeal even if that doesn’t sound inherently appealing. Two of Webb’s co-performers from that album have returned. Vocals are shared between him and Annette Berlin, a Bristol scene stalwart who currently sings in Shoun Shoun and is a valuable component of ‘Synth 2’ – hypno-industrial of the Factory Floor ilk – and the slow, low-key ‘Pleasures’. And trumpeter Pete Judge, of Portishead-adjacent jazzers Get The Blessing, enlivens groove-chasing out-rockers ‘Penetralium’, whose particular ambience is on something of a Selvhenter tip, and ‘Beneath The Underdog’ – one of your textbook ‘kitchen sink’ closing tracks, where most of the elements found in the preceding eight are brought to bear in some way.
Those elements include strings by Anne-Laure Labaste and Dan Bridgwood-Hill (rural drone morphing into ecstatic on ‘Inviduation Point’; more serious faced on ‘Bones Don’t Lie’); digi-industrial FX that come to the fore during ‘Winter In My Soul’ and, per the track credits, are probably the work of Mike Kingston (other, similar electronic parts on the record are contributed by Dylan Mallett and Aonghus Reidy); and percussive work where Webb sometimes doubles up with Dan Johnson and summons the spirits, living or otherwise, of Charles Hayward and Jaki Liebezeit.
Webb’s drumming CV also includes stints in Anthroprophh, the brainchild of Paul Allen from heavy psych rockers The Heads, and member-related duo Big Naturals. He was a repeat player in Dali de Saint Paul’s sprawling, finite EP/64 (Johnson and Mallett were also contributors), and has drummed for Gnod since 2016 – New Hallucinations is released on Paddy Shine of Gnod’s label Tesla Tapes, its first ever vinyl venture in fact.
A lot happens over the course of this album, indeed the people who made it are a busy bunch, but it doesn’t tip over into self-indulgence, and gives the impression that the creation of atmosphere comes naturally to Jesse Webb and whoever he brings into the Final Age fold.
