It’s official; playing just one genre is OUT. If you want to be a respected band/artist/musician in 2006, you’ve got to meld genres and sounds to make your own. It’s finally happening. Even in the typically unimaginative genres and sounds it is happening; November Coming Fire and Mastodon alike are turning Metal on its head. And it’s such a welcome change I don’t know where to begin.
And so now, at this point, after becoming one of the presses hotly tipped bands with ep release ‘Iris’ comes Swedish five-piece Jeniferever, taking their influences from bands like Appleseed Cast and Sigur Ros, both veterans in this new found creativeness and originality. And straight away you get an idea of where the crossover’s come in at Jeniferever’s remarkably unique sound. It is the epical Emo meets Post Rock with Americanised sounds and style of Appleseed combined with the ethereal progressive indie with a hint of Nordic influence of Sigur Ros. But to constrict and describe Jeniferever’s sound to just these two influences is unfair on them and unfair on you, the potential listener.
Because, a good majority of Jeniferever’s sound is from their own creation; there is little else that sounds like Jeniferever right now. The wonderful harmonies and beautiful melodies that literally swim around in Jeniferever’s music scream romance. The lyrics are charming and the whole production and energy seems totally conscious on crating landscapes through sounds, like Pelican or Mono, while at the same time using emo-influenced melodies. And, as can be heard from brilliant opener ‘From Across the Sea’ – which manages to possess all the tactics and conventions noted in this paragraph – the end result is fantastic.
Instrumentally, they are refreshingly unique too. Driving, rhythmic drum lines are the foundation, holding everything together, while guitar lines and synth noises provide the building blocks, drifting in and out of the listener’s consciousness. It’s simple, but creates the mood and atmosphere perfectly. It is, just as creative and fragile as Sigur Ros in some moments, but slightly more subtle in its approach. Like on the fantastic finale ‘Opposites Attract’ where all the emotions of the record come into one, final burst, where sounds beautifully build up and up until the song’s dramatic climax, before suddenly returning to bare necessities and ringing out to mark the end of the album.
The whole this is just beautifully constructed; the music creates the same luscious landscapes as can be found on the album’s packaging. ‘The Sound of Beating Wings’, for instance manages to be both angelic and anthemic, a wonderful pop song that keep’s the creativity of all of Jeniferever’s work and is guaranteed to have the listener smiling. ‘A Ghost in the Corner of Your Eye’ however shows the band at their most stripped down and subtle, but still manages to be as grandiose and moving as when they are creating a more, fuller sound.
Ultimately, it is a ‘complete’ album. It dips into every emotion possible, even anger in the haunting ‘Magdeleno’. And that is a key point about this album. It is, as is a generic convention of the sound their make; a very emotional experience. Luckily though, it is a very pleasant and mostly uplifting one. It is an album for all season; both an uplifting summery album to a brooding winter one, and is one of the best releases of the year so far.
Adam Turner-Heffer
