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photosThe Red Alert (Spring Tides)
"This was one of those rare albums that just trapped me, wrapped me up, and enraptured me from the first couple of notes, and didn’t let me out of their sonic blanket until the CD had stopped. I was not expecting that at all.
Jeniferever is a Swedish band, and have been playing together since 1996, and I’m just wondering why it took them this long to find me. That’s what this feels like, it’s personal, every song, every note – it moves out and reaches into you, and you just know that you didn’t find this band, they came looking for you. The first song sets and holds the mood; beautiful, cold, spacious, and drifting, but at the same time “Green Meadow Island” is full of warmth and trust and passion. Hints of bands like Mogwai and Godspeed! You Black Emperor spill out in shifting times and melodics, but are layered underneath the shimmers of harmonic delicacies.
Delicacies that sometimes are pushed against fragments of something more harsh and jarring, but these fragments are still tied to the beauty of the whole. Perhaps like twists of early Modest Mouse, dropping Dramamine along a Trail of Dead so you can find your way back home. Maybe like listening to the Appleseed Cast, if they were covering songs by Codeine. The vocals, the voice, speaks directly to you, “Ox-eye” becoming a sad poem to a lost lover, and you never knew until now that that lover was you. Every song holds a secret that opens only to you.
The music hits like raindrops across a Slint song, breaking up into light and thunder. Every song ends at just the right time, but leaves you wanting just a little more. Each song hints at an aching that leads you a little closer to forever. “St. Gallen” moves out with piano melancholy, and then the rhythm kicks in, pushing waves of that warmth and iciness together until the song becomes a strange monochromatic kaleidoscope. The vocals are earnest and yearning and moving along the guitar lines with strength and compassion, and it almost hurts your heart to listen to this. Then when the guitars rise and raise and explode, you almost scream with the release.
“Nangijala,” possibly (probably?) named after the land in “The Brothers Lionheart” by Astrid Lindgren, clocks in at just over nine and a half minutes long, but when it ends, you feel as if just a second of your life has passed by. The longest song of the 10 tracks, it falls perfectly halfway through, and starts out slow and low and aching and as the minutes pass, as the story unfolds, the guitars push and crash and stomp out like a Seam song you always wanted them to play. Then “Sparrow Hills” comes, pushing you back into a more current frame of mind, getting your thoughts back from spiraling out, and the mysterious and seductive ebb and flow continues, keeping you safe within this bands gravitational pull.
The disc ends with the second longest song on the album, and the title track, “Spring Tides.” It’s a smooth and consistent, almost psychedelic farewell to all who have listened this far, and it just puts everything away, tucks you in, kisses you on the forehead, and promises to visit again soon. It’s like a post-rock Mary Poppins floating away on some slight emo-gazed umbrella, but so much better."
Marcel Feldmar
Drowned In Sound 27 April 2009 (Spring Tides)
"Although more than a decade has passed since their initial formation, Jeniferever first came to prominence courtesy of 2006's Choose A Bright Morning, released by this very site's sister label. While that record was undoubtedly a breath of fresh air amidst a sea of eighties clones and lad rock urchins, it would probably be fair to say that it was more a case of "right place, wrong time" as far as commercial success matching its instantaneous critical recognition was concerned. Indeed, at the time, many a discussion took place on these here boards as to why everywhere else hadn't picked up on its ethereal beauty, and rightly so; or maybe we were just ahead of our time too? Whatever the reasons, Choose A Bright Morning has burgeoned Jeniferever's fanbase since its release - something that would be apparent to anyone who's seen them in the flesh over the past few weeks can vouch for - as their near-as-dammit sold-out shows more than justify the vociferous praise bestowed their way.
In terms of recorded output however, Jeniferever have never been the most prolific when it comes to delivering product on a timely basis. It took them six years from their humble beginnings to release their first recording, and a decade for their aforementioned debut long player to surface, so they were never going to satisfy the popular business model put forward by the music industry, at any cost. It is this constant striving for perfection that has pushed them to the cusp of greatness. Jeniferever aren't just administering their own brand of quality control; instead, there's an abundant air that nothing less than the absolute maximum will suffice, while their musicianship - which again, really does have to be seen to be believed - is nothing short of phenomenal. Forget the obvious comparisons - Mew, Sigur Ros, The Cure - Jeniferever are a band in a phase of constant development, hence the reason for the long wait between records.
Oddly enough, many observers thought Jeniferever had disappeared off the face of the earth altogether until the flawless Nangijala EP emerged late last year via Naim, which on first listen was a simply astonishing piece of music, never once waning in intensity or virtuosity even though it clocks in just seven seconds short of ten minutes. As a precursor to Spring Tides, Nangijala was a brash opening statement of intent that set the scene perfectly for their second long player's imminent arrival. As expected, Spring Tides does not disappoint.
What is quite noticeable in comparison to their previous long player - personal favourites 'From Across The Sea' and 'Alvik' included - is that not only is there a more virulent mix of abstract noise to go with the more familiar tone of tranquility but there's also an underlying richness to Kristofer Jonson's voice that may have been glossed over on previous recordings. Take the resonant beauty of 'Concrete And Glass', for example. While the dynamic array of sounds courtesy of Martin Sandstrom, Ollie Bilius and Jonson are still highly evident in the mix, there's a moment mid-song where the haunting vocals cause the song's direction to change course. 'Ox-Eye' meanwhile is quite possibly their finest five minutes to date; its reverb heavy bass and insistent percussion casting glances towards the seminal (and currently highly influential) krautrock pioneers, rather than post-rock contemporaries.
While the aforementioned Nangijala sits at the mid-point of Spring Tides like an umpire on Wimbledon's Centre Court, the fact it is by no means the best track here casts aside any notions of an albatross clinging onto its creators necks. The closing couplet of 'Ring Out The Grief' and the album's title track probably owe as much to early 90s experimentalists Bark Psychosis or Disco Inferno as they do any of the more recent Scandinavian exponents of euphoric distortion-infused walls of noise.
Overall, Spring Tides is the record Jeniferever have undoubtedly spent the past thirteen years of their existence building towards; an epochal moment that was well worth the wait, and can only whet the appetite in further anticipation of where their next journey of discovery will take them - in their own time, of course... (8/10)"
Dom Gourlay
God Is In The TV (Spring Tides)
"Jeniferever, a four piece from Uppsala, Sweden formed in 1996. After a long wait and several EP releases, 2006 saw the release of their debut album, 'Choose a Bright Morning' on Drowned In Sound recordings which garnered them great reviews and won over a cult underground following, begging for the band to become bigger than they probably would have ever imagined. Several near sold out tours around Europe ensued but the big break that was expected never came and eventually the hype behind Jeniferever slowed down due to a lack of new material being released. 2008, however, saw the release of 'Nangijala', a three track EP on NAIM and while it showed a different sense of adventure throughout its packaging, this reviewer at least was disappointed with the result of the music showcased,: an alarming lack of evolution from the now two years previous 'Choose a Bright Morning'.
With 2009's release of Jeniferever's follow up album 'Spring Tides', there is, for me, a rather large sense of hesitance. Is this album going to be much the same as we've all now come to expect from Jeniferever, slow building, shoe gaze ambience or will 'Spring Tides' go where 'Nangijala' didn't dare to, into the realms of something new?
Luckily, all notions of negativity are dispelled within the first track 'Green Meadow Island', which carries a sense of urgency that many Jeniferever fans won't have heard before, a more drum-driven sound covered with rockier distorted walls of sound and as always, the emotionally charged vocals of Kristofer Jonson, for once not hesitantly whispered. The tempo and attitude remains much the same until 'Nangijala', the title track from the previous EP release which sadly, lowers the tone back into Jeniferever of old and really shouldn't have been seen fit to share the limelight on this release. Thankfully the rest of 'Spring Tides' fits right back into place, ambient and shoegazey but refreshingly so in its approach, making way for its more calmer moments within the middle point of the album to really show off the band's knack for writing both slow and fast paced emotional melodies that hold the ability to warm your heart like very few bands seem to achieve in modern music.
'Spring Tides' is the release that Jeniferever had to make, still sticking to their guns but penning songs that should pull them from underground cult status to the dizzying heights that their counterparts, bands like Sigur Ros, have achieved. If 'Spring Tides' isn't in the majority of reviewer's top ten albums for 2009, alongside great commercial success, then the world really is a cruel place. (5/5)"
Craig Broad
Comfort Comes - 2 June 2009 (Spring Tides)
"Three years ago, Jeniferever’s debut album Choose A Bright Morning helped me get through a tough spot in my life. There was no rhyme or reason as to why but it seems like I listened to “The Sound Of Beating Wings” everyday for most of ‘06. Finally, the band return with another blend of what I liked to call emo meets Sigur Ros. Not much has changed in the songwriting and sound of the band over these 3 years. The band still bring that epic and heart-provoking sound to the record. There might be a little more maturity to the songs that wasn’t there last time, though. Kristofer Jönson’s soft and powerful vocals are the most appealing thing about the band; his delivery will consistently send shivers down your spine. A track like “Nangijala” pushes the nine minute plus mark starts off with such a gentle stream, and winds up building an emotional crescendo that almost had me in tears. “Lives Apart” is another track that just takes you by the heart with that simple bare bones instrumentation and some powering lyrics.
Spring Tides is an album that should be among everyone’s selections this year. Jeniferever manage to weave post rock/ambient indie and shoe-gaze together for something that is just irresistible."
John Siwicki
The Run-off Groove (Spring Tides)
"The album cover is somewhat somber, at least if you associate a black with feeling somber, with what looks like something astrological. Jeniferever are a Swedish band who are all about taking their brand of pop and rock to unknown boundaries, only to define and rip them apart. Spring Tides (Monotreme) is an album based on concentrated melodies and countermelodies played at a deliberate pace that helps develop the musical picture in your mind even more. It’s very intense, and one of the more orgasmic songs is the album opener, “Green Meadow Island”. It starts out fairly mellow and sweet, dare I say quaint, and about three minutes in they grunge things up in a wall of noise and distortion that fits that particular moment, as if to say “don’t expect the sweetness to last forever, in fact here’s something downright ugly” and yet when you hear the moving guitar solo, you know that they know exactly what they’re doing. The distortion and haze lasts for a minute before the group relaxes again, and it only helps prepare the listener for the remaining nine tracks.
I enjoy hearing the depth in the composition of these songs, and in fact I love hearing composition, and it unfolding to reveal new things,whether it’s the sunset-like guitar in “Concrete And Glass” or the delicate touches of “The Hourglass” and “Nangijala”. It’s a remarkable listen and it’s great to think music like this can still be released in 2009. Don’t miss this."
Subba-cultcha (Live review - Jeniferever in Oxford 18/4/09)
"The Cellar is a truly beautiful place, a small, dark, underground nest of throbbing expectancy when the lights and crowd wait on an empty stage. Playing on that stage is always a rush, it’s the only venue in Oxford that has riotous potential, where the prospect of all-out instrument breaking musical revolution and adrenaline-heavy war can hang in the air. Drunk and dark, you wish for these things, and Jeniferever are due to beckon them.
Onstage Jeniferever are, in short, two bassists, two guitarists, drums, with at times three vocalists, the lead of these Kristofer, occasionally sacrificing his guitar for a crouch at the keys. The first track on the new album Spring Tides, is the first track of the night, Green Meadow Island. The climax of this song is particularly beautiful, it is my most awaited of moments after countless album listens and it expands onto the stage magnificently, the best section of live music I’ve seen since Radiohead’s Victoria Park show last summer, and in the band’s intelligent instrumentation, not a bad comparison in terms of sound. One thing that really comes across live, and is enhanced by the Cellar’s cavernous acoustics, is the percussion. Rather than simply filling out the epic sound in a sea of cymbals and throbbing toms, the rhythm is a source of energy and variety that runs across, as well as together with, the rest of the band. It’s testament to the band’s sound that they can at one minute provide the perfect foot-tapping Saturday feeling of release, and at another, that epic, spaced-out star-gazing meditation, which is easy in the studio, but hard for most bands to deliver live.
The set is hypnotising in the best sense, each song running naturally into the next without bleeding into boredom, the crowd clearly enthralled for the duration. The band finish with Across the Sea, thus book-ending the show with probably their two best (or rather, popular) tunes, and giving the night a certain closure. The satisfied crowd are left to weigh their post-gig options with an air of slight bewilderment, like people who have been taken to the moon and now earthbound are lost for motivation. I approach a busy after-show Kristofer, his speaking voice and manner the perfect duplicate of his onstage persona; he is tired from the tour, he is looking forward to his day off tomorrow, he enjoyed the show. I feel the conversation is somehow inadequate after such majestic musical expression and connection. Tongue-tied without our stage and lights and amps uniting us, I tell him I’m from subba-cultcha, he seems to relax, smiling, ‘Ah, yeah, we’ve been on there a few times,’ and like the comfort of an old friend, with the relief and release of familiarity, we each walk off, knowing that as long as there’s music worth writing on, people will write on it, and in what could almost be a lyric from the new album, nothing ends but is simply reformed, Spring Tides suddenly seeming an apt name for the future of Jeniferever and their listeners, a band worth seeing again and again, and an album deserving the same. "
Dave Anderson
dailymusicguide.com (Live Review - London 29/4/09)
"There was an element of romance attached to the evening as skinny Swedes headed to a rough part of town to a venue best described as 'antique'. They were even late on; the whole thing smacked of bohemian cool.
Before that we had the pleasure of meeting Caesura, whose emotive brand of progressive rock showed a great deal of potential. Their gorgeous three-part harmonies filled the back room as thickly as the smoke machine.
After the pleasantries came an unfortunate blip by way of Joymask, their sound a bizarre mix of lounge jazz and r n' b/pop-style vocals. There's a good reason the styles have never merged previously.
There was a lengthy wait before Jeniferever were ready to begin, but eventually fairy lights illuminated the stage, transforming the dingy well-worn platform into something magical; from sparse melodic beginnings did ear-splitting noise emerge.
Jeniferever delicately crafted melancholic slow-burners that gravitated into uplifting cacophonies. Their textured sound had a physical presence, an ambience you could easily get lost in. This mood was laced by Kristofer Jönson's sporadic hushed vocals and thirteen different guitars.
Admittedly, the number of guitars came across as overkill, but whilst such post-rock meandering might have carried the stigma of pretentiousness, the performance suggested that the Swedes are nothing other than heartfelt. Indeed, 'Closing In' was enough to bring tears to eyes already softened by the billowing smoke machine.
'Ox Eye' brought about similar if not more epic results; the standout track from their recently released Spring Tides effort excelled in the live environment. It brought about that glorious wince that only occurs when every single hair is stood on end, its wonderful crescendo invaded the audience's senses.
Although the band ran close to formulaic 'quiet, loud, quiet' dynamics, it was their seamless build-up and progressions that were worthy of most praise. By turns mournful and exhilarating, Jeniferever kept everyone on tenterhooks.
Rating: 4.5/5 "
Rock Sound Magazine - April 2009 (Spring Tides)
"While Sweden’s Jeniferever made a lot of friends with the release of 06’s ‘Choose A Bright Morning’, the foursome’s debut long-player wore its influences rather too broadly for the record to truly stand out as a must-have release in the post-rock-cum-shoegaze field. With ‘Spring Tides’, they find their own voice magically, from the outset stamping their mark through new material that sparkles with a greater iridescence than anything they’ve penned previously, and the contrast from ethereal elegance to cacophonous bombast ensures attentions never wander. One example of their more-muscular approach is ‘Ox-Eye’, which pummels the listener into a dizzy state of sweet escapism, Kristofer Jönson’s light vocals filling the spaces between each thunderous drumbeat; that the track fizzles to an end only to glide wonderfully into the gentle, piano-led ‘St Gallen’ is indicative of the band’s ability to mix styles with no faltering of coherency. The previously released ‘Nangijala’ doesn’t feel out of place, its inclusion a worthy one given the limited-release nature of its original EP of last year, and come the title-track closer the listener has witnessed a band operating at a never-before-achieved level of accomplishment. ‘Spring Tides’ is a purely natural high, available to all.
For fans of: The Appleseed Cast, Last Days Of April, Mono (8/10)
"
Mike Diver
Amplifier Magazine (Spring Tides)
"There’s another swoosh besides Nike upon us. Somnambulant Swedish quartet Jeniferever, which has been in business for about thirteen years, has mastered the art of dramatic pop on this sweeping collection of catchy compositions couched in epic sound-scapes. Akin to Sigur Ros, Coldplay, and Jeff Buckley, the lads (vocalist Kristofer Jonson, guitarist Martin Sandstrom, bassist/keyboards Olle Bilius, and Fredrik Aspelin on drums) pay deliberate attention to detail and make every note count. The brooding piano intro to “St. Gallen” is tempered by wayward trumpets before the band kicks into Pink Floyd mode at about the two minute mark with legato keyboard passages and the ever-mystical and oft obligatory jazzy ride cymbal. “Sparrow Hills” nearly qualifies as an up-tempo rocker with Aspelin’s rolling tom-toms underpinning Sanstrom’s upper register guitar melodies (Is the Edge on anti-depressants?). Jonson’s high-pitched delivery serves him well, especially on the title track which evokes comparison to the original Velvet Underground had they survived Andy Warhol’s hype. Swoosh!"
Tom Semioli
musicomh.com (Spring Tides)
"Jeniferever have been floating around on the peripheries for some time now. Since 2002 they've only released one album (the simply stunning Choose A Bright Morning) and a smattering of EPs. But it's in the live arena where they've made the most ground. Seemingly endless touring has garnered them a considerable swell of fans, and it's easy to see why. Jeniferever deal in huge, luxuriant soundscapes that soothe and bruise in equal measure and that rarely fail to delight.
They may well "fade in gently" on the majority of their songs but there is always a sucker punch, a forceful swell or very occasionally, a torrent of noise that slowly builds to sweep the listener along with them. In a live setting, it's a sure fire winner as you feel your bones slowly start to quiver under the skin as Jeniferever start to move from delicate melody to pummelling tumult. On record, it's a far harder trick to pull off and one that they actually seem to have side-stepped in favour of simply letting the delicate arrangements do all the work, rather than simply relying on the quiet/loud dynamic that so many bands hammer to death.
So the likes of St Gallen never really explode. Instead they smoulder for the duration, building and releasing in pulses, ebbing and flowing like the tiny breakers on a flat sea. Spring Tides makes sense as a name; so many of the songs here are built around simple ideas, atmospherics and tempos rather than sudden changes in tone and volume. There are no tsunamis here - and yet this is an album far from being in the doldrums.
If the vocals weren't such an important element of the structures, you'd be inclined to suggest that Jeniferever were a straightforward post-rock band. But there's more going on here than that moniker might suggest. If Sweden were lacking a band in the Sigur Ros mould, then they have found one in the shape of Jeniferever. They are as accomplished and as effective as their Icelandic counterparts and, with a bit of luck, they'll gain the support needed to build on their obvious talents, without having to wait years for offers to put records out.
Spring Tides is not really an album that you can break down into solitary tracks. Once you've slipped under the surface of the wistful guitars of Green Meadow Island you never want to come back again. The addition of horns to Nangijala makes it stand out individually, but you'd be better off picking up the EP on which it first appeared. Amongst the other songs of Spring Tides it only serves to pull you further under the hypnotic spell of Jeniferever.
Only The Hourglass steps outside of Jeniferever's usual approach, coming on like a stadium rock ballad - or as close as this band is likely to get to one. Motorik drumbeats, and guitars that wouldn't sound out of place on a U2 record make it stick out like a sore thumb, and that's before it goes racing off into a turbo charged ending that is all about rattling basslines and squalls of guitars.
Jonson's voice hangs over the band like a phantom radio broadcast, slipping out of the air and finding a home in your fillings. It's the most invigorating moment on the album and one that almost pulls you up and out of the band's spell, filling your lungs with fresh air. But there's still the bumpy ride of Ring Out The Grief and the stargazing of Spring Tides to go, so it's back under for just a little while longer.
Ring Out The Grief is occasionally frantic, with beautiful piano lines being undermined by drilling guitars. It's not long before the band return to their more mournful setting though, the guitars echoing like the last chords played at the close of the season at the end of a pier. Spring Tides reaches for the sky, the strings swamped in delay and something that makes them sound as if they're being beamed in from space - the same part of space that Buck Rogers inhabits.
And then it's time to leave Jeniferever's world. For about three seconds, until you reach for the remote and start the whole thing off again. These Spring Tides lap at a place too beautiful too leave behind. (4/5)"
The Fly May 2009 (Spring Tides)
"Over ten years since they first began, Sweden's Jeniferever return with their second full-length album. An ambitious and epic collection of songs, 'Spring Tides' lulls you in slowly with the darkly melodic opener 'Green Meadow Island', before broadening its sonic horizons and ideas. It's incredibly hard not to be moved by the shimmering instrumentation and Kristofer Jonson's nostalgic, disembodied vocals, especially on 'Ox-Eye' and the hauntingly desperate 'The Hourglass'. Much like that old favourite song that plays randomly on your iPod one day, 'Spring Tides' reaffirms Jeniferever's heart-wrenching talent. For some odd, unknown reason, they're somehow easy to forget when not around. When they are, they simply stagger and astound. (4/5)"
Mischa Pearlman
Clash Magazine May 2009 (Spring Tides)
"Lush sounding Swedes return. More than three years on from their last album Jeniferever finally get around to producing a follow up. "Spring Tides" is a typically gorgeous blend of noise pop melodies, with songs that move from pop choruses to orchestral climaxes in the flick of a distortion pedal. Innocent yet passionate. 'Spring Tides' is well worth the wait."
Plan B April 2009 (Spring Tides)
"Seven years [sic] since the release of debut Choose A Bright Morning, along comes this, a shiny new thing that's so lovingly produced it's like a child alternately coddled and hothoused since birth. A mere dusting of vocals and Hammond organ ("St Gallen") can be surprising."
Uncut April 2009 (Spring Tides)
"It has almost become a cliche that Scandinavians make this kind of music well - the kind of heart-swelling soundscapes that beg to be described in terms of glaciers and geysers. On this, their second album, Jeniferever rise above such cliches with 10 beautiful songs that take the Sigur Ros blueprint and expand on it: "Ox-Eye" and "Sparrow Hills" add some muscle to the mix, reminiscent of Mew's collaboration with J Mascis, while the nine-minute centrepiece, 'Nangijala', is almost classical in scope. (4/5)"
Nathaniel Cramp
Big Cheese (Spring Tides)
"It's not often that you hear a band that build from beautiful melodies and breathed vocals to impressively orchestral climaxes, but Jeniferever make it sound easy. Forming in 2002, this quartet from Uppsala, Sweden, paint a picture of Scandinavia with soothing and wintery orchestral instrumentation. With a sound that gels ambient indie rock, shoegazer and post-rock, lyrics about nistalgia, loss and hope and an undeniably epic quality, this quintet really is something special. Having released their debut album, 'Choose A Bright Morning', back in '06, new label Monotreme is set to re-release it this spring, along with the band's perfectly timed new second album, 'Spring Tides'. Jeniferever are sure to make waves when they tour the UK in April. "
Subba Cultcha (Spring Tides)
"A luscious mixture of ambient indie, post-rock, shoegaze and dream pop comes from Swedish quartet Jeniferever who release their sophomore sonorous album 'Spring Tides' and wait for the world to listen. Having formed in 2002 they have gained a serious following in Europe.
The album is an instant hit to the brain. ‘Green Meadow Island,’ is a crashing atmospheric start. Like many of the rest of their songs it starts slowly and builds in layers into an instrumental climax. ‘Concrete and Glass’ continues in this way. While on ‘Ox – Eye,’ the vocals take over. They are dreamy yet angst ridden and float over the aural soundscapes. They sound like The Cure in a Snowstorm. On ‘St Gallen,’ piano and brass compete for prominence on this ice cold instrumental gem. Just when you have spent minutes lulled into the music, the guitars and dreamlike vocals kick in. ‘If you bring words I’ll bring pen and paper.’ On Nangijala Kristopher Jonson lisps adoringly ‘let go of the burden that keep you looking back at the tracks that you made as you fell. What’s the reasons for that?’ He sounds like Conor Oberst guesting with Mazzy Star; a delicate acoustic strum, which ascends into ambience. At nine minutes it never feels too long. On the title track the telling refrain is ‘her stories they are beautiful but they won’t bring me back.’ Maybe they will?
The ten songs on Spring Tides combine acoustic guitar with evocative warped key sequences. Heart rending strings and murderous percussion complete the picture. They are all very individual pieces that complement each other beautifully. The music is both gentle and violent, a great combination. Ambitious orchestral fare and a great find. (5/5)
"
Mandy Williams
Strangeglue (Spring Tides)
"Since their formation in 1996 Jeniferever have been staring at their starkly beautiful home of Uppsala, Sweden - lush in its greenery compounded by intricate, artful architecture - and have infused these qualities into their music. While earlier in 2009, The Appleseed Cast gave us a mesmerising melding of rock dynamics and lyricism with post-rock sensibilities, Jeniferever have gone and surpassed them in every single way imaginable.
Post-rock usually treats its listeners like one might treat a beloved pensioner with six heart-attacks behind them: no sudden movements and the familiarity of routine. With Jeniferever accompanying them, they'd be dead in minutes. The Swedes prove adept at straddling the rock staple of swift, unexpected rhythmic and tempo changes as well as being equally proficient at arrangements which layer tension and intensity like the sands of an hourglass. Upon pressing play, there's no ten-minute wind-up as each instrument gradually takes a bow, we're launched straight into the action on "Green Meadow Island" with a ride-cymbal smash and a throbbing bassline. Before thirty seconds are through, our vocal host for the next hour has already been cued.
Throughout Spring Tides there are both examples of complex twists and seamless segues. "Concrete and Glass" and "St. Gallen" answer for the first as the former breathlessly switches from confusion to resolution in the space of a heartbeat, constructing the kind of drums/piano/vocal concoction which Keane only experience in their fevered dreams. The latter, meanwhile, offers a plodding piano-led groove which gives over most of the runtime to ingrain itself into your consciousness before peppering it with guitar licks and then surprising with a Hail-Mary pass of lyricism.
Stepping forward as examples of the latter - seamless segues - we can call upon both "Ox-Eye" and "The Hourglass". Rather than just being content with hiding the changes via tip-toeing subtlety, both have a greater ability conferred upon them. It feels as if the gradual changes to one aspect of the song actually resonates, morphing the entire composition around itself as it diverges. Take the former, "Ox-Eye", introduced with spoken word vocals the effect is a stark contrast to those we have witnessed previously. Stripped of their humanity at first, warmth, sustain and range are gradually lent to the performance, hooking the arrangement as the metamorphosis progresses. Where once a sparse, plaintive dirge stood, now strides a commanding supernova of a song. As front-man Kristofer Jonson pumps kinetic energy into vast swathes of firing cylinders he continues to channel ever intensifying emotional resonance into his voice. That is before it all nosedives into a vortex, sucking the humanity once more from the track.
"The Hourglass", for its part, does the opposite. Initially juxtaposing up-tempo, serene music with disconsolate, forlorn intoning. Gradually, Jonson infects the song, dragging the mood down with him, which only serves to further fuel the anguish felt by the protagonist.
As with previous album Choose a Bright Morning, the centrepiece of the album (track five in both cases) proves to also be the lengthiest. Named for the land chronicled in Astrid Lindgren's children's novel The Lionheart Brothers, "Nagijala" is filled with shared themes. "Let go of the burden that keeps you looking back at the tracks that you made as you fell / What's the reasons for that if we will never try to stand again." Jonson declares in the dark, yet positive number. Disease, death, tyranny, betrayal and rebellion may have been overly weighty themes for a book aimed at the young, but here, they are perfect: obstacles on a journey in which the song focuses less on the documentation of the journey from point A to point B and more on the atmosphere throughout, the feelings experienced with each foot placed nearer to the destination: the continual pace, the need to proceed and the triumph in perseverance. At nine minutes in length, you'd expect it to bounce around every dynamic known to mankind, to the contrary, it remains rhythmically stoic, despite this, not once does an aura of repetition descend, so numerous are the intricacies woven into the fabric of the song.
With so many lofty aims and such complex arrangements you would naturally expect there to be many mis-steps along the way. We have taken the liberty to list everything which might dissuade you from sampling Jeniferever's sophomore album for yourself in the following paragraph...
(9/10)"
Aidan Williamson
Penny Black (Spring Tides)
"'Spring Tides' is the second album from the Swedish band Jeniferever,whose debut album, 'Choose A Bright Morning', will also be re-released on the Drowned in Sound label in the spring.
It opens with 'Green Meadow Island', which starts with deep Cure-like bass and drums, while singer Kristofer Jönson's vocals have the same lost style of Mark Mulcahy or Jeff Buckley. As it progresses it pulls its listener increasingly in, becoming steadily more hard-edged and in the style of Muse.
'Concrete and Glass' is lusher in tone, and begins with strings and deep drums which are played at a marching pace. Kristofer's vocal is quiet and charming. It adds some sad violin and heavy piano to the mix, and is a good chill out song for a bad day or even a very good one.
'Ox-Eye' starts off with heavy bass and drums. It has the feel of the early Cure, while Kristofer's vocal is spoken. As it develops it become more intense in manner, sounding like Radiohead or again the Cure at their very darkest.
'St Gallen' has a slow piano intro and grooves, and the vocals don't even join the track utill almost the 4 minute mark. It is again a moody, chilled out number.
'Nangijala' was the title track on a recent EP. Clocking in at 9 minutes and 36 seconds in length, it is reflective in tone and style and by its finish you are totally lost in this note-perfect track. It adds some trumpet near the end which sounds quite twee, but surprisingly works well.
'Sparrow Hill', as with the previous tracks, has enough dark dreams and reflections as well as moody keyboards and guitar lines to keep any Cure fan happy.
'Lives Apart' is slow and very reflective, and, dark as night, at six and a half minutes in length another long number.
'The Hourglass' is with its jangly guitars more in the vein of the Chameleons, but its bass is reminiscent of Peter Hook from New Order.
'Ring Out the Grief' is slow and moody, again recalling Radiohead, and finishes in a wall of feedback.
The eight and a half minute 'Spring Tides' closes the album. It starts off sounding light and charming, but soon pulls you in with its steadily dark post-rock sound.
An absolutely fantastic album. "
Anthony Strutt
Advance Copy (Spring Tides)
"Spring Tides feels real. This Swedish band, who's been under the radar for a decade, delivers emotion-splitting orchestral-like works with a purpose. The atmospheric guitaring (hey, Jeniferever, i can make up words too) melt with lilting vocals that get carried away by whichever space-filling keyboard tone they're using. Something deep is going on. "Sparrow Hills," with its fragile bells/chimes, is the pinnacle of an already consuming album. Can i get a heart? Cool, here's a heart...[heart]. (****)"
Kenyon
Rocket Falls 16-3-09 (Spring Tides)
"Jeniferever are a band which have never really strayed from their roots - since forming in 1996, they have stayed in their home town of Uppsala, Sweden. And the glacial surroundings the band found themselves in have lent greatly to the band’s sound, a blissful blend of indie rock and ambient, post rock sensibility.
And this, their second full-length album, demonstrates all of the finer points of their sound. Glacial guitars shimmer over slow, shuffling rhythms. Singer Kristofer Jonson’s vocals are brought more to the front than on previous recordings, and in comparison they seem stronger than before. However, hushed and emotive, they retain the same qualities that add so much to the delivery.
Also prominent is more orchestration and layering in the music, from the horn backing to Nanjigala and the prominent strings throughout Concrete And Glass. That’s not to say that the band hide behind it in any way - their own playing stands up perfectly well alone. Standout track The Hourglass is one of the more uptempo numbers, yet is just as melodic as the rest - building up before bursting into a heavy, climactic ending.
Spring Tides is a shimmering, glacial record, full of emotion and soul. Some will be hard pressed, in fact, to find a record equalling the heartfelt honesty portrayed throughout. A must-listen for any discerning fan of post rock."
The Skinny 26-3-09 (Spring Tides)
"Further proof that Scandinavia is responsible for some of the most exciting and inventive music around just now, Swedish quartet Jeniferever are back with a truly exceptional second album. The ten tracks here aren’t songs as much as they are miniature symphonies with movements and a vast dynamic range, each complete in itself. Take St Gallen, for example: icy, circling piano shivers give way to sonorous brass, blossoming fully when rippling guitars and Kristofer Jonson’s impossibly light vocals emerge four minutes in. Track length regularly exceeds six minutes, and a couple venture closer to ten, but Spring Tides never feels indulgent; rather, each song is given the required time to breathe and grow. Picking a standout track is nigh on impossible, but Nangijala and the thundering Green Meadow Island certainly command attention. Startling, immense and utterly stunning, Spring Tides is the rarest of albums: one to lose yourself in unconditionally. (4/5)"
Heather Crumley