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Two years ago, I named Jeniferever's Spring Tides my number one album, a decision I still stand by completely. It was one of those albums, for me, that happen once in a blue moon: it hit all the right notes both musically and emotionally and it also happened to have really good timing. I'm not sure I would have been in a place to appreciate Jeniferever's music if I had heard it at any other point but just then, in that perfect moment, it impacted me like nothing else. For this reason, it is a difficult, perhaps even impossible, album to top and with Silesia, Jeniferever have not quite done it. Though the songs range from four to nine minutes long, Silesia as a whole feels somewhat streamlined. Part of the appeal of Spring Tides were the instrumental breaks that slowly unfolded, building up layer by layer into these grand, cinematic soundscapes and Silesia is lacking in that department. This time, the band seems to be going for melody over atmosphere and while this isn't at all a bad thing in moderation, it's a bit disappointing in a song like "The Beat of Our Own Blood," which, though good, is a bit devoid of individuality. Still, when the album shines, it really shines. "Waifs & Strays" is another one of the catchier tracks but also remains distinctly Jeniferever in sound. The opening title track is truly stunning, vast and monumental in a three-dimensional way when much of the rest of the album sounds slightly two-dimensional. Closer "Hearths" is equally impressive though for opposite reasons; its restraint creates intensity from the inside out rather than the other way around. However, the true standout for me is actually one of the most straightforward songs they've ever written, "Where the Hills Fall Towards the Ocean." Lyrically very simple, the impact lies in the instrumental build-up and comedown, one of the few instances in which the heights of Spring Tides are reached, and in Kristofer Jönson's vocals. Though his voice could quite accurately be described with such adjectives as "nasal" and "whiny," it's somehow beautiful anyway. You can hear the emotion bleeding out as he sings and, ultimately, this is what holds Jeniferever's music together: the unfiltered intensity he instills in each and every word, whether he's whispering or wailing. Silesia may not be a masterpiece but most things aren't. It is a band doing what they do best; even when their efforts aren't fully successful, they're always fully genuine.
Two years ago, I named Jeniferever's Spring Tides my number one album, a decision I still stand by completely. It was one of those albums, for me, that happen once in a blue moon: it hit all the right notes both musically and emotionally and it also happened to have really good timing. I'm not sure I would have been in a place to appreciate Jeniferever's music if I had heard it at any other point but just then, in that perfect moment, it impacted me like nothing else. For this reason, it is a difficult, perhaps even impossible, album to top and with Silesia, Jeniferever have not quite done it. Though the songs range from four to nine minutes long, Silesia as a whole feels somewhat streamlined. Part of the appeal of Spring Tides were the instrumental breaks that slowly unfolded, building up layer by layer into these grand, cinematic soundscapes and Silesia is lacking in that department. This time, the band seems to be going for melody over atmosphere and while this isn't at all a bad thing in moderation, it's a bit disappointing in a song like "The Beat of Our Own Blood," which, though good, is a bit devoid of individuality. Still, when the album shines, it really shines. "Waifs & Strays" is another one of the catchier tracks but also remains distinctly Jeniferever in sound. The opening title track is truly stunning, vast and monumental in a three-dimensional way when much of the rest of the album sounds slightly two-dimensional. Closer "Hearths" is equally impressive though for opposite reasons; its restraint creates intensity from the inside out rather than the other way around. However, the true standout for me is actually one of the most straightforward songs they've ever written, "Where the Hills Fall Towards the Ocean." Lyrically very simple, the impact lies in the instrumental build-up and comedown, one of the few instances in which the heights of Spring Tides are reached, and in Kristofer Jönson's vocals. Though his voice could quite accurately be described with such adjectives as "nasal" and "whiny," it's somehow beautiful anyway. You can hear the emotion bleeding out as he sings and, ultimately, this is what holds Jeniferever's music together: the unfiltered intensity he instills in each and every word, whether he's whispering or wailing. Silesia may not be a masterpiece but most things aren't. It is a band doing what they do best; even when their efforts aren't fully successful, they're always fully genuine.
Best of 2009, Pt. 7
Jan. 9th, 2010 09:26 pmHa! I bet you didn't think I was going to get around to posting the rest of this today, did you? Well, neither did I but in the end, I forced myself to do it because I would have been completely disappointed if I screwed up the entire schedule at the last minute. Because of this, half of these reviews are kind of half-assed. But I've also written about all of them to some extent before so that's partly to blame too. Anyway, I doubt most of you read my overly-long ramblings anyway so as long as the music follows, I guess that's all that matters.
( And the winners are... )
And there you go! That's it! Now I can take a break for a couple of days before I get to work on gushing all over my first potential top twenty of 2010 when it comes out on Tuesday. Yes, you read that right, I'm already predicting what's going to make it onto this year's list. In fact, it's not even halfway through January and I've heard three albums already that I'm positive will be on it. I won't make some broad exclamation of album of the year yet because that's more than a little premature but, yeah, I'm pretty sure I've got 3/20 spots locked.
( And the winners are... )
And there you go! That's it! Now I can take a break for a couple of days before I get to work on gushing all over my first potential top twenty of 2010 when it comes out on Tuesday. Yes, you read that right, I'm already predicting what's going to make it onto this year's list. In fact, it's not even halfway through January and I've heard three albums already that I'm positive will be on it. I won't make some broad exclamation of album of the year yet because that's more than a little premature but, yeah, I'm pretty sure I've got 3/20 spots locked.
MIX: 'Til they're cleaning the ashtrays.
Jul. 8th, 2009 03:43 pmSo... I haven't posted anything here in quite a long time. Sorry about that. But I was in the mood to make a mix the other day so I'll share that. It doesn't really have a theme at all. Basically, the only thing these songs have in common is that a. I've been obsessed with them at some point in the past two or three months and b. I don't believe I've ever posted any of them here before. Other than that, they aren't really connected. I'm too lazy to upload the whole thing in one ZIP file so you don't have to listen to them in order if you don't want to (though I think it actually works extremely well as a whole) and you can pick and choose if you don't want/need every song. Enjoy. :)
And, oh yeah, I know it's sort of a "rule" not to have two songs by the same artist on one mix but whatever... I couldn't decide between the two and they both worked really well so I kept them. They are far enough apart that it doesn't seem like overkill. And anyway, they're both insanely good.
And, oh yeah, I know it's sort of a "rule" not to have two songs by the same artist on one mix but whatever... I couldn't decide between the two and they both worked really well so I kept them. They are far enough apart that it doesn't seem like overkill. And anyway, they're both insanely good.
Song(s) of the Day #89
Jun. 1st, 2009 12:32 pmI couldn't decide between two immensely beautiful songs so I'll just share both of them.
Edit: Okay, I was just listening to "St. Gallen" again and my God, it blows me away every time. So I feel like I have to post the lyrics to that too because it is so. good. The final lines. The part that's bolded. Oh my God. Makes me want to cry because of its beauty.
( LYRICS )
Mew - Symmetry
(There are only three members currently but in all of the recent pictures I found, 2/3 of them have long, flowing locks and it freaks me out when guys have longer and prettier hair than I do. So this older picture will have to do instead. Anyway, this is an older song so it makes sense... just go with it.)
I haven't decided yet if I really like this band overall but this song is insanely pretty. The harmonizing is incredible and the two voices fit together so perfectly. And God... it's just beautiful. That's all I can say about it really. I was listening to the album it's on (Frengers) all the way through and nothing had really stuck out to me in the first few tracks but then I got to this song and listened to it four times before moving on to the next. And then the album suddenly started to sound a lot better from that point on. Funny how that happens, how one song can just grab you like that and make you see everything else that you had previously dismissed in a totally different light. And also, regarding those amazing harmonies, I should probably mention that the female half of them is a fourteen year old girl, which makes them even more impressive. Her voice actually does sound like a teenager's and not some diva twice her age but she's just got such an angelic, pure presence that she completely outshines the band's singer, Jonas. Which is pretty commendable as he's got a rather impressive high vocal range himself.
I should have posted this one a long time ago but I was trying really hard not to post about them obsessively and possibly, as a result, make myself and everyone else sick of them. But it's been long enough since I last mentioned them now so I think it's safe. Anyway, this song is gorgeous. It's from their first album, Choose a Bright Morning, which didn't really hit me right away like Spring Tides did; it's been more of a grower but the songs are no less beautiful and sad. This one in particular has stuck out to me. The lyrics are very good and so heartbreaking, especially the first few lines. As is the norm with their songs, it starts off really sparse and slow before breaking out into a more energetic climax (though, in the instance of this song, it actually stays pretty mellow throughout). The back half of the song is definitely the best part of it and, for some reason, it reminds me of Blonde Redhead. I don't really know why. I think it's the high female accompanying vocals and the melody of the words makes me think of some of their songs too. But I don't even really like Blonde Redhead that much so, in my opinion, this is about a million times better. I would love Blonde Redhead if they sounded like the second half of this song. Also, the last few songs I posted by them were kind of buried in a link dump of random stuff I hadn't shared so if you haven't heard St. Gallen, you need that one in your life too. Seriously, I think that song and this one are among the most beautiful things I've ever heard
Edit: Okay, I was just listening to "St. Gallen" again and my God, it blows me away every time. So I feel like I have to post the lyrics to that too because it is so. good. The final lines. The part that's bolded. Oh my God. Makes me want to cry because of its beauty.
( LYRICS )
Mew - Symmetry
(There are only three members currently but in all of the recent pictures I found, 2/3 of them have long, flowing locks and it freaks me out when guys have longer and prettier hair than I do. So this older picture will have to do instead. Anyway, this is an older song so it makes sense... just go with it.)
I haven't decided yet if I really like this band overall but this song is insanely pretty. The harmonizing is incredible and the two voices fit together so perfectly. And God... it's just beautiful. That's all I can say about it really. I was listening to the album it's on (Frengers) all the way through and nothing had really stuck out to me in the first few tracks but then I got to this song and listened to it four times before moving on to the next. And then the album suddenly started to sound a lot better from that point on. Funny how that happens, how one song can just grab you like that and make you see everything else that you had previously dismissed in a totally different light. And also, regarding those amazing harmonies, I should probably mention that the female half of them is a fourteen year old girl, which makes them even more impressive. Her voice actually does sound like a teenager's and not some diva twice her age but she's just got such an angelic, pure presence that she completely outshines the band's singer, Jonas. Which is pretty commendable as he's got a rather impressive high vocal range himself.
Random linkage.
May. 16th, 2009 12:31 amA bunch of random songs I've uploaded recently for whatever reason. Might as well spread the wealth, right? Some of them are songs I've already posted but have likely fallen victim to the strange Box.net glitchy mp3 upload issue so if you're OCD about music like me hopefully these ones have no problems with skipping and strange noises.
( Click for links. )
( Click for links. )
Song of the Day #87
May. 9th, 2009 09:05 pmSong of the Day
Jeniferever - The Hourglass
Jeniferever - The Hourglass
Despite their, in my opinion, kind of lame band name, Jeniferever's music is anything but. Let me try very inadequately now to describe it: atmospheric, slow-building, mellow with an intense edge, beautiful. The spacey, shoegaze-y instrumentation and frontman Kristofer Jönson's vocals are given equal amounts of the spotlight, neither more important to the music's mood than the other. Jönson's voice often starts out a song deceptively whispery and weak only to later blow the listener away with the passion and power behind it. Jeniferever's music does require a little patience and work on the part of the listener, however; their songs take so long to build up to an intense climax that the journey at first seems a bit tedious but the pay-off is completely worth it. They're also one of those bands I recommend listening to very loudly as their sound occupies a very specific space between delicate and aggressive, causing many of its subtler layers to go unnoticed if you do not fully immerse yourself in the music.
This song specifically is from their newly-released album, Spring Tides. I think the most successful way for me to sell it is through the reactions I had on my very first listen. The first two minutes: I like this but I don't know if I love it. The middle two minutes: Whoa, this is getting really good. The final two minutes: My mind has officially been blown. Even though the song's tempo or dynamics never really change for the first three-and-a-half minutes, you can just feel that something amazing is coming and this feeling makes it all the more satisfying when it finally does come. I'm not sure it's my favorite from the album anymore but it's probably the most instantly accessible song and it still manages to make me think "holy shit" once it's over. And I figure if it was capable of completely winning me over and convincing me that I needed to hear more right away in just one listen, it'll hopefully do the same for someone else too.
P.S. This makes them even more amazing. Mates of State, represent!
