Jyves, the guy behind the screen.

Thank you for visiting my site !

I'm Jyves aka Jean-Yves Lestienne, 20, Belgian and quite proud to be one of them. I'm a language student at the School for International Interpreters (eii) in Mons, an old town located in the French speaking part of Belgium. I have English and Danish as foreign study languages, and I've spent three months at the Copenhagen Business School. I enjoy travelling enormously - my latest trip was to Finland.

I'm crazy about dEUS, which is the main reason for running this ever-expanding site. I have almost* all they ever released but I haven't seen them live more than 9 times. Other bands I like include lots of tiny Belgian bands, most of them close to the Antwerp scene, and bands as different as Mogwai, Sonic Youth, Spiritualized, Pavement, Placebo, Cornelius, Yo La Tengo, Day One ...

My other interests lie -mostly- in reading -novels as well as comics. I read Terry Pratchett's books a lot, Douglas Adams & Frank Herbert's, too -science fiction and fantasy, that is. Comicwise, I waste money on Calvin&Hobbes and Earl&Mooch as well as on more obscure readings released on tiny labels: more or less the same approach I have towards music. And I still like playing video games.

*My dEUS collection (I'm soooo proud :)

FELL OFF THE FLOOR, MAN
Bang! CDS
Island 1-tr. promo

HOTELLOUNGE
Bang! postcard digipak
Island 2-tr. promo
Island 7"

IN A BAR, UNDER THE SEA
Bang! CD
Island 12"
Island "Turnpike" 5-tr. promo
Island promo
Island advance copy with black/purple sticker

INSTANT STREET
CD1
CD2
CD2 with video (UK)
2-tr. CD
1-tr. advance radio copy
Spanish promo
7"

LITTLE ARITHMETICS
Bang! digipak
Island digipak
Island 7" picture disc
Island cassette
Island 1-tr. promo
Island 2-tr. promo

LITTLE ARITHMETICS/FELL OFF THE FLOOR, MAN
Island CDS
Island 7" picture disc

MY SISTER = MY CLOCK
Island 1-tr. CD
Phatpak edition
Island cassette

ROSES
Bang! digipak
Island digipak
Island limited digipak with live tracks
Island 2-tr. single (US)
2-tr. promo single
Island 7" picture disc

SISTER DEW
CD1 (w. Gimme The Heat & Little Arithmetics)
CD2 (w. Thirteen & A Shocking Lack Thereof)
CD2 w. video (UK)
7" w. poster
promo CD-R

SUDS & SODA
Island digipak
Island 7"
Island US 2-tr. promo
Island US 4-tr. promo

THE IDEAL CRASH
standard CD
12"
cassette
advance copy in special sleeve

THE IDEAL CRASH single
normal single

THEME FROM TURNPIKE
Bang! digipak
Island CDS
Island 10"
Island 7" picture disc

VIA
Island 7"
Island 12"

WORST CASE SCENARIO
Island 14-tr.
Island cassette for Thailand only

ZEA
Bang! digipak

AND ...
dEUS/Humo CD-rom
Worst Case Scenario T-shirt
MS=MC T-shirt
The Ideal Crash lighter

VARIOUS ARTISTS
Real Belgian Products (w. The Magic of New Popmusic)
Saturday Night Fever (w. The Horror Partyjokes)
Volume 14 (w. Morticiachair (live))
Volume 17 (w. The Magic of New Popmusic)

So let's face it : I still have close to NOTHING when compared to the whole discography

The new album is far too good! How could they do such a wonder ? I can't believe it ! Aaargh too much pleasure ! What ??? You don't have it yet ?

I couldn't resist writing how I feel about The Ideal Crash ...

It's far better than what I expected, actually it's way above all my expectation. At first listening I didn't know what to think, but after more than 20 listenings, I believe dEUS signed one of the best albums of the decade. Tom Barman said it's a "groeier" (an album which has to grow). He's right, trust me.

It begins with a quite loud song. Put The Freaks Up Front can certainly be considered as this album's Roses. Not because it sounds similar in any way, but it's the most rocky song. Then comes Sister Dew ... Listen to what Tom sings. Very moving, I just can't do anything when I hear that song. And as a matter of fact, every song has powerful lyrics. The time is past when Tom wrote nonsense just to stick to the rhythm of the song (Suds & Soda ...). Tom & Craig write about personal experiences: love, drugs, relatives, fame, ... The Ideal Crash is an album of deep insight and anger - of drained anger, most songs are very soft. But dEUS isn't synonym of softness, this was established long ago. Every number builds up, more and more layers are added - the sound is incredibly rich, every listening is a new discovering.

But as said, it's an album of drained anger - don't expect any Little Arithmetics, Suds&Soda, Via or Roses number two, you'd be disappointed. The new dEUS album is the debut album of a new band called dEUS. A band which can make a perfect album without any weakness, where every track is a bit of pure gold, a bubble of happiness - just incredible. One Advice, Space is an emerald. The Ideal Crash is probably the perfect popsong - Tom Barman's final achievement until he makes even better. Everybody's Weird is the disco thing of the album, with obvious 80's influences and perhaps even some 70's Pink Floyd. And the album closes with a box of two jewels - Let's See Who Goes Down First with its hallucinated lyrics full of resentment and its very complex structure and Dream Sequence #1 which goes on the same angry thread - but so soft and eery ...

The Ideal Crash features also Instant Street, a cool and catchy pop song which ends in a chaos of electricity, and two beautiful ballades, The Magic Hour and Magdalena. All in all, a very varied album - just as dEUS like. And so do I. And don't listen to the cold fish who go telling everybody Tom Barman & Craig Ward sold their souls to money: their new album is definitely not the commercial thing it could have been. Nothing in it allows anybody to say it will sell more than In A Bar, Under The Sea - nothing but pure genius.