St Vincent - Jesus Saves, I Spend
Jesus' head must be swelling. Not content with exclusive reference and adoration within hymns carols and happy-clappy Christian rock, he crops up everywhere in music from black metal to hip hop and po-faced indie. On the other hand he could be dying from embarrassment. Used as a symbol for all that is reverent and moral it is perhaps unfair that people use his name to kick against those who use his name to oppress and subjugate.
This is neither one thing nor the other. Lolling along with a delightful 'Bum, bum, bum, bum...' backing, 'Jesus Saves, I Spend' is a reflective little ditty about enjoying our godly creations as well as respecting them. Not so much a two fingered salute but a nice hug and a cup of herbal tea. 'While Jesus is saving I'm spending all my grace" makes you feel sorry for the big guy..
Amongst stuttering drums and swelling keyboard lies a nursery rhyme melody which is somewhat uncharacteristically these days, sung with something of a natural beauty. Sleigh bell percussion and a clever use of backing vocals give this a lovely benevolent feel whilst still retaining an alternative ethos. However, sounding destined for use as a 'passage of time' soundtrack for some dull American indie film, it is somewhat tailor made for that annoying type of person who has no axe to grind what so ever. A pause for thought halfway through spins slowly like a carousel and though charming is quite sickly at the same time.
A wonderful cover of Nico's 'These Days' on the B-side overshadows the song and puts the loveliness to much better use. Different certainly but not enough spark to light the fire