JENNIFERS, THE:
Colors from the Future: CD
On the Jennifers’ previous EP, John Irvine sang, “That which doesn’t kill me/Can still hurt a lot.” It’s a simple twist on a familiar line and it represents what The Jennifers do so well: tweak what you’ve heard before. Swirled among the band’s kaleidoscope of sounds are glimpses of presumed influences—Television, the Soft Boys, XTC, and R.E.M., among others. Over the years, the labels for the Jennifers’ type of music have changed like a James Bond license plate—punk, new wave, indie pop—but the essence remains constant and simple: it’s smart guitar pop. Not since the Young Fresh Fellows’ Electric Bird Digest have I listened to a record so many times in one year. I turn to Colors from the Future like most people turn to syndicated sitcoms. It’s a fantastic mental pipe cleaner of a record, a disc that clears away the work day. Musically, that is. As was the case with Electric Bird Digest, I’ve barely scratched the surface with the lyrics on Colors. That’s likely to take another year or three and I didn’t want to wait that long before passing along my two cents on this brilliant record. (Note: The Jennifers do not count in their ranks anyone by that name. There are, however, one John, two Joes, and a Skizz.) –Mike Faloon (Beef Platter, www.thejennifers.com)