Jeniferever – Spring Tides

Trust this reviewer when you're told that coming from Oxford makes you more aware of post-rock than an average citizen. Technically challenging, prone to self-indulgence and a certain po-faced following the best examples of the genre always manage to throw aside such tags - think Radiohead or Sigur Ros, even Elbow have their roots in the moody ambience and complex rhythms that are to be found on the second full length release by Jeniferever - Spring Tides. However unlike their fellow Scandinavians who find themselves packing out vast spaces such as Alexandra Palace, the Swedish quartet find themselves still very much a cult concern although this record certainly shows signs that they're more than capable of shrugging off the negative connotations and reaching a wider audience.The recent reappraisal of shoe-gaze should also do Jeniferever no harm as the whole of Spring Tides is dominated by echoing layers of introspective guitar, one moment spartan, the next toppling over Kristofer Jönson's voice like icy waves.This is obviously music that takes itself very seriously and has every right to, but things thankfully never get too "mathy" - here guitars are used to twist, turn and delight rather than to impress or baffle. There is only the odd slip into slightly dodgy terrain; the vocals on the opening 'Green Meadow Island' (wasn't that a level in some Mega Drive game?) toe a thin line between emotive and over-wrought but there is an empathy in the strings that close the track that re-affirm the passion of the vocals and bookend the track perfectly.'Concrete and Glass' is another rhythmically awkward number but the semi-militaristic snare work is eased by an astonishingly pretty sweep of strings and rousing chorus that manage to rise out of the swamp of guitar noise to a rousing group sing-along of "Can't go back/take a different turn". Despite every new band since Arcade Fire feeling obliged to all join in vocally at some point in their live show when it's done well there's something about hearing large numbers of people singing together than still manages to resonate and really hit a place that not much else can. The half spoken vocals of 'Ox-Eye' are also in danger of drifting into the realms of cheese but are again rescued by the power of the music.Much better is 'St.Gallen' but then again it's much better than most songs. After a mournful piano intro a recurring guitar motif is introduced, dropped and then slotted back in like the final revelatory piece of a jigsaw. As if on cue Jönson' raises his game accordingly, there is simultaneous menace and resignation in the delivery of simple lines such as "if you bring words/ I'll bring pen and paper" and the resultant mood is reminiscent of 'Rainbow' from Talk Talk's outstanding Spirit Of Eden.It may be called Spring Tides but this is epic, widescreen and wintery music that is not to be dipped in and out of, there are some fantastic moments; 'Nanjigala' is a nine minutes and fully warrants it, but the overriding feeling is that after a slight dip in quality in the latter half of the album the best is yet to come. 76%Jeniferever on MySpace