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Swedes cook up an atmospheric sound
The Advocate
Jeniferever, a band hailing from Uppsala, Sweden, plays a brand of "atmospheric" indie/post rock on "Silesia" that, although not terribly original, is very easy on the ears.
The group, whose name pays homage to the Smashing Pumpkins song "Jennifer Ever," consists of Kristofer Jönson (vocals), Martin Sandström (guitar), Olle Bilius (bass, keyboards) and Fredrik Aspelin (drums).
The album art, featuring a snowy mountainous range with jutting, jagged rock, is something one would more associate with Sweden's infamous metal scene rather than an indie rock band. But rather than emphasizing the bitterness and cold of winter, the band's sound seemed to explore its natural beauty and the solace it brings.
The album opens up with the title track, "Silesia." A bit of an odd sounding song, "Silesia" sums up the general sound of the album, with slow guitar melodies accompanied by soothing vocals and occasional outlandish keyboard and synth effects.
There are some exceptions of course. "The Beat of Our Own Blood" is the pop-iest of the bunch and is much more upbeat. Others, like "A Drink to Remember," are long and open slowly and are sometimes tedious.
Although they are adept at the atmospheric style they offer on "Silesia," this is both a blessing and a curse in that you've got to give the CD a couple of spins before you can truly begin to appreciate the tracks. Because of the atmospheric vibe, it was very easy listening the first time through, but almost too easy.
When the final song, "Hearth," faded out, it was hard to recall any particular favorites or standouts from the album.But after the second and third time through, distinguishing songs from one another was not nearly as difficult.
Vocalist Jönson can be a hit or miss for listeners. Some might find the softness of his voice a bit empty or droning, while for others it can be relaxing.
However, his style of vocals fit right in with the atmospheric sound and flow of the music. At times, his voice can come off as emo, but thankfully without sounding whiny or too melancholy.
With most songs generally slow to mid-paced, the guitar work can be simplistic but by no means ineffective, and the bass follows suit. Though you might often find that the guitars and bass take a back seat to the vocals and may mesh in with the keyboards and synths, they just further add to the atmosphere and tone that the band tries to set.
The band also experiments with various other sounds, such as the violins on "Cathedral Peak" and other computerized effects that come up every so often in the songs.
Their usage is fairly minimal, but the small segments in which they were showcased helped establish the individual identity of each song which can be aproblem with the album and is its only major flaw.
Overall, this release is a pretty good listen and is recommended to anyone interested in ambient music as these Swedes have a knack for atmosphere.
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