Jeniferever / The Search
DBs, Utrecht
13/01/2005
I first went to Sweden in 1990 and discovered that everyone is, or has been, in a band. One member of Uppsala act The Search - keyboardist and guitarist Johan Zeitler - takes that further by also playing with touring partners Jeniferever, appearing together at DB’s in Utrecht in a low-key Dutch trip before heading back to Scandinavia.
First up were The Search whose six members played exactly the sort of ‘80s-influenced melodic pop that is so lapped up by the music media currently. However, they show far more stagecraft and better songs than the bands currently being championed in the press, like New York’s The Bravery and Northampton group The Departure.
Jeniferever have a tiny buzz around them at the moment and I was fortunate enough to discover them after a chance reading of an article on the website Drowned in Sound. A link to an MP3 was also present on the site and after one listen, I was totally sold. Their music is like a hypnotic and dreamy soundtrack and has often been compared to Sigur Ros and Mogwai. As is usually the case with these comparisons, they don’t really sound like either of them. The sound, however, is clearly very important to the band as evidenced by singer Kristofer Jonson’s attention to detail, checking what the audience is hearing whilst The Search and local band the Mercy Giants are on stage.
When Jeniferever finally perform their set, remarkably beautiful songs emanate from the stage, with fragile guitars and an even more fragile voice making way for gorgeously textured music as their songs develop. The band completely lose themselves in their music as they play, and gradually the low-level drone of audience discussion also disappears as the band convince the onlookers.
‘An utterly great unknown band’ is how Jeniferever were described by Drowned in Sound. Performances like this are unlikely to keep them unknown for much longer.
Simon Gleave
Photo: Emily Graham
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