| |
|
|
Release of the Month: Jeniferever
 Pick of the month for March 2006.
Jeniferever
Choose a Bright Morning
Release Date: 3/14/2006
Website:jeniferever
Label:Drowned in Sound Recordings
Buy Here:Boomkat
Music:Myspace
~~~~~~~~~~
This month I'm opting to take a "behind the scenes" look at this column, for those who may be interested in such things, while attempting not to skimp out on all the fabulous details that go into my typical review. It might not be readily apparent that this column is the one that I take most seriously and spend the most amount of time on each month. I go through hundreds upon hundreds of cds every month looking for that "special gem" that will get featured, and believe me, I only pick something if I stand behind it 100%. I have no qualms about not making a selection for a given month if the pool is particularly weak--that is never an issue. Thus, you can always be assured that I will bring the absolute best to the table. Of course, it's probably verging on an physical impossibility for me to sample every album that is released for a given month, but I do my best to keep up with all the hot artists as well as keeping a scrutinizing eye on the indie scene, but nationally and globally, so that my picks are top notch.
Some months it's much easier to make a selection than others. I can generally place all releases into two categories. The first category being that of popular bands and big releases. The good thing about these releases is that since they generally take place on bigger labels, the labels have the promotional tools going well and I'll have access to the album a few months ahead of time, which lends itself to a proper digestion. For March there were two of these releases which inevitably were in consideration for Release of the Month, Mogwai's Mr. Beast and The Appleseed Casts's Peregrine, both of which I have found quite enjoyable. Of course, Mogwai's reputation precedes it and it is a undeniable result of its past success that anything it releases (ever) will be surrounded by negative press along the thinking of "this album isn't as good as the band's older work" and "this band is over the hill". Over the past month I've read my fair share of criticisms of Mr. Beast, and the one comment that I have on the album is that many reviewers have a tendency to really overlook the point of the album when they make claims such as "there's no new material on Mr. Beast" and "Mogwai lacks the epic feeling that it used to have". In effect, it seems like most critics want Mogwai to create an album of epic proportions that contains no reused material at all. That's an utterly ridiculous request to make of the band, and around the time of Sigur Ros's Takk similar arguments were made against that (as well as the claim that is was too "poppy"), but then everyone wasn't shy to put Takk on their list of "Top Albums of 2005." I suspect a similar thing will happen to Mr. Beast. In any case, Mr. Beast is a great reworking of all things Mogwai, taking all of the tools they've established over the years and fine-tuning it into compact, concise songs that really emphasize the song-writing ability of the band and the fact that when they want to, Mogwai can create some songs that are just absolutely beautiful, like "Friend of the Night." Deny it if you will, but when bands reach for the "epic" status, it often has to sacrifice the song-writing quality of its songs en route to building up that majestic feeling that forces itself all the way down to the tips of your toes. Of course, post-rock has been greatly defined as a epic-sounding genre, but the neo-post-rock movement is exciting (at least to me), and I think Mogwai hits the nail on the head in Mr. Beast while staying true to its established sound.
The Appleseed Cast's Peregrine is a stellar album, one that is quickly becoming a favorite of the year for me. The band has been slowly coming into its own over the years, increasingly honing its sound and tightening up all the loose bits and readying itself for its breakout album. I think Peregrine will be it, which I would consider the best indie-rock album since Muse's Absolution. The Appleseed Cast bring all the essentials to the table--rough, fretting guitars, an overwhelming drummer, and addicting vocals that leave an impression long after they've left. As such, this put the band in very good competition for Release of the Month, although ultimately they didn't pull it out in the end.
The second category of releases are those from small independent labels and self-produced by bands. Most of these just pop out of nowhere and catch me by surprise, even though I may have know about the band for months. Some of them I do happen to get a head start on, such as Gregor Samsa's 55:12, which I covered in Tracking the Trends. I have been watching the bands for a few years, but it hadn't gotten around to releasing a full length album until this March. 55:12 is really a post-rock's fan dream come true, as it's filled with some of the most beautiful songs created in the genre over the past few years. Angelic vocals softly levitate over swirling, hypnotic instrumentation and the band just constantly teases the listener with catharsis. Undoubtedly this will go down as one of the better post-rock albums of the year.
Another band in competition was Sickoakes with its debut album Seawards. Sickoakes is a Swedish instrumental band that's been around for a few years, releasing a lot of demos year by year, but again, this is the first sign of a proper full release by the band. Although the album contains several strong songs, everything is dwarfed by the massive " Wedding Rings and Bullets in the Same Golden Shrine", which clocks in over twenty minutes in length and is as epic as the duration would suggest. This is an album for fans of the bands like ef, Pelican, and Red Sparowes and is one of the better instrumental releases thus far in 2006.
And then there were two releases that totally sprung out of nowhere in March and had me quite addicted. The one that didn't inevitably make the cut was Denmark's Under Byen. A friend of mine recommended them to be at the beginning of the month, telling me that the band had a new album out and it had a sound similar to Sigur Ros meets Bjork. That’s so much Icelandic goodness from a band that's not from Iceland! Samme Stof Som Stof is the third album by the band, and it features them as strong (and bizarre) as ever. Under Byen is one of those acts that is ridiculously difficult to classify or label into a genre, but my friend's aforementioned connections are a good starting points. Surely those who enjoy the sounds accustomed to Iceland will be enchanted with this band, who will be a runaway sleeper in 2006.
But alas, none of these splendid pieces of art ended up as the release of the month. That honor is formally bestowed upon another Swedish band, Jeniferever. I first came across this little band a few months ago while researching my series on experimental British rock. I know what you are thinking, it isn't a British band, and you are correct, but I attest that my research methods are not that skewed. After signing with a British label, Jeniferever has done some touring the great isle and as a result has played some shows some of the UK's hottest underground artists. Thus, I took note of this a few months back but never really took the out of my busy schedule to indulge myself in the sounds of Jeniferever. It wasn't until this month, with the release of the band's debut album, Choose a Bright Morning, that I made a conscious effort to listen to the band. And I was mightily impressed. For many, simply naming all the albums in that didn't make Release of the Month for april will qualify giving Choose a Bright Morning at least one listen, if not several more. However, some of you may need convincing, so here we go.
Jeniferever plays a style of music that can most closely relate to post-rock and indie-rock genres while almost entirely leaving out the entire concept of tension and catharsis. In this effort, they share a strong connection with Gregor Samsa, yet take it even more to the extreme. Maybe we can call this pop-post-rock, since there isn't much contained in Choose a Bright Morning that is edgy or daring, unless you consider submitting the listener to one devastatingly beautiful song after another "risky." In any case, this band had me searching down everything it has ever attempted to create all month long, and hands down, Choose a Bright Morning is the shining star of the collection, a testament to the brilliance of this young Swedish band.
The subtleties in Choose a Bright Morning are so subtle that often they're unnoticeable. Don't misunderstand this observation, Jeniferever is not a boring band. Quite the contrary. A wide array of sounds fill the sonic environment, strings, horns, keys, and guitar effects calmly roam the landscape and intermingle, creating harmonious, yet chilling portraits. The underlying tone of Choose a Bright Morning is difficult to pinpoint. It's a mix of a haunting atmospheric presence with layrs of sadness, longing, and despair. The vocals are perfectly executed; airy and gloomy pipes are highlighted with the slightest tinge of a "emo" vocal presence. It gives Jeniferever a biting uniqueness and familiarity that makes it easily accessible while also providing the perfect story to complement the instrumental accompaniment.
Although many of the tracks transverse with little interruption, there are more stereotypical post-rock moments in Choose a Bright Morning, as seen in tracks like "The Sound of Beating Wings," "Magdeleno," and "A Ghost in the Corner of Your Eye." The first three songs start off very slow and lethargic, which sets the pace for the rest of the album. Reverb and delay pedals are called upon on occasion, but never to the point of ad nauseam and rarely forceful enough to even establish any tension. "A Ghost in the Corner of Your Eye" introduces a string accompaniment which promptly weaves a ghostly presence by engulfing the landscape with a wash of stagnation. "Winter Songs" carries the burden of picking up from a dead start, and slowly yet surely blooms into a wondrous finale amidst a chorus of horns and pedal effects. "The Sound of Beating Wings" is my personal favorite of the cd. It is a simple repetitive song that is a bit different than the other songs on the album. It quietly builds up momentum through sharp drumming and pedals, and then two and a half minutes into the song it erupts into a complete fury of sounds. Aware of the sudden derailing of its music, Jeniferever quickly recedes back into the subtle mind-frame a minute later where it spends the rest of the album much like it did the first half. But, in that brief instance, a total realization of the band's beauty sinks and makes the album a masterpiece.
It's not often that I'll say this, but Jeniferever is a band everyone needs to hear, regardless of personal taste. It's music is that compelling. The songs drip with emotion, saturated to the core with an overwhelming feeling of urgency. The song "Marks" contains the lyrics "some things are just too good to remain," but surely they can't be talking about themselves. Choose a Bright Morning is simply wonderful.
~Jordan Volz
Written By: hostDate Posted: 11/22/2006Number of Views: 828
Return |
| | | | | |
| | |
|