Jeniferever «Choose A Bright Morning» (2006)

Take a favourite moment from shoegazing. An album, a track, a note, a sound, — a gorgeous bell-chime guitar. Take that moment, and shape it into a place. Then climb inside and explore everything until it envelops the senses. Forget tracks, or titles. There is only the album – one seamless, shifting aural landscape. No space or time, just an aching beauty called Choose a Bright Morning. It is difficult to reference Swedish quartet Jeniferever (which is never bad). I suppose it’s fair to say they occupy the space between Mogwai and Sigur Ros? (Even money says those bands get a mention in most write-ups.) Yet, it only tells you half a story. If you love those bands, sure, buy this record. If however you’re at saturation point ……don’t even hesitate! While the current slew of Mogspeed bands often excel on particular tracks, they can also struggle to make cohesive albums. Choose a Bright Morning is far more satisfying on a holistic level. The presence of real lyrics and vocals throughout the album elevates it above its peers. From the moment it begins with meandering guitar shimmer on From Across the Sea to its crescendo an hour later, the album explores themes of sad introspection and nostalgia. Partial immersion isn’t an option. Backwards effects and loops are all part of Post Rock’s appeal. Yet however challenging and satisfying some records can be, their artificiality is often audible. Refreshing then that Choose a Bright Morning has a more acoustic, organic heart. It doesn’t feel like listening to the studio. Notes fall like raindrops when you can’t see the cloud. Somehow, the music is simply there. We visit it. Not the other way around. We fall into it, like a daydream. Choose a Bright Morning is a marriage of dream pop and ambient jazz whose ancestry probably skips the Sigur/Mogwai generation in favour of bands such as Labradford and Bark Psychosis. High-hat cymbal work and hushed vocals punctuate intricate bursts of spangled, effect-laden guitar. Like Bark Psychosis (for whom the term «Post Rock» was created), this album is arguably less about rock’s boundaries and more concerned with the spaces in-between. (…) Choose a Bright Morning revisits the Post Rock drawing-board and blows it sky high. F***ing incredible!

Tracklisting:
1 From Across The Sea (6:05) // Bass – Johan Zeitler // Recorded By [Guitars] – DJ Lo-Kut
2 Swimming Eyes (7:03) // Electronics [Beats] – Martin Skogehall // Recorded By [Vocals] – DJ Lo-Kut // Vocals – Anna Tomlin
3 Alvik (6:38) // Bass – Johan Zeitler // Trumpet – David Wermegård*
4 A Ghost In The Corner Of Your Eye (5:32) // Bass – Karl-Henrik Mattsson // Cello – Gerda Holmquist // Viola – Åsa Nagnusson
5 Winter Nights (11:07) // French Horn – Anna Haglund // Trumpet, Flugelhorn – David Wermegård*
6 The Sound Of Beating Wings (6:59)
7 Marks (4:30) // Banjo – Rickard Jäverling // Recorded By [Banjo] – DJ Lo-Kut
8 Magdeleno (3:29) // Lyrics By, Vocals, Recorded By [Vocals] – Chris Leo // Synthesizer – Johan Zeitler
9 Opposites Attract (9:02) // Lyrics By – Martin Sandström // Synthesizer – Johan Zeitler

Label: Drowned In Sound Recordings
Catalog#: DiS0017
Format: CD, Album, Digipak
Country: UK
Credits: Artwork By, Artwork By [Design] – Karl-Henrik Mattsson // Edited By – DJ Lo-Kut, Jeniferever // Lyrics By – Kristofer Jönson (tracks: 1 to 7) // Mixed By – Magnus Lindberg // Producer – Fredrik Aspelin, Kristofer Jönson, Martin Sandström, Olle Bilius // Recorded By [Drums], Edited By, Mastered By – Magnus Lindberg // Recorded By [Vocals] – Erik Lidbom (tracks: 1, 3, 5) // Written-By, Recorded By – Fredrik Aspelin, Kristofer Jönson, Martin Sandström, Olle Bilius
Genres: post-rock / indie rock / newgaze
Links: Official Website || @MySpace || @Last.FM || @Discogs || @Wikipedia
Bitrate: 256
Download: @InfoStore [UA-IX]

Grade: 10/10

Вокал интересный. Напоминает ту же Imogen Heap, но твёрже и холоднее. С эдаким отрешёнными драматическими интонациями. А на подъёме – всё тот же дедушка Роберт Смит чудится. Унисексовый голос ;) Музыка выглядит как пост-рок, поверх которого решили насадить вокал. В результате вещь может начаться как вполне такой инди-рок, а потом где-то достигнув половины длительности вдруг превратиться в пост-пост. Голос в «Magdeleno» напомнил о Labradford. Хорошо, в общем. Знаете, сейчас полно всего и пост-рока тоже. Но есть банды, которые действительно имеет смысл заценить. Вот эти из таких, по-моему. (Не тратьте время на, к примеру, Te или Tristeza)

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