Jennifer Gentle

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jennifer gentle, who i only know as being the band that ILXor marco damiani manages, and through oneida's tour diaries, have made a great album, the second really good 2005 album ive heard. actually, the second 2005 album ive heard (MIAMIAMIAMIAMIA) at all.

ive seen ned and marco mention them in passing around here, but i think this new album deserves a thread. i think PF reviewed it (around an 8 or something?) yesterday or the day before... really really quiet in most parts, but not on the awesome soft machine-esque freakout "hessesopoa". in fact, 1969 canterbury is well and accurately represented here in general.

any opinions?

― peter smith (plsmith), Wednesday, 19 January 2005 18:04 (nineteen years ago) link

it's awesome

― kyle (akmonday), Wednesday, 19 January 2005 18:08 (nineteen years ago) link

I like them. I posted "I Do Dream You" back around November, and I still listen to that song fairly often. I don't listen to the full album as much, but it's pretty worthwhile stuff, especially if you're a fan of Syd Barrett.

― Matthew "Flux" Perpetua, Wednesday, 19 January 2005 18:11 (nineteen years ago) link

is that song still on your site? I'd like to hear them....can it be found in the archives?

― owen reading, Wednesday, 19 January 2005 18:13 (nineteen years ago) link

No, I take the mp3s down after 10 days or so.

― Matthew "Flux" Perpetua, Wednesday, 19 January 2005 18:15 (nineteen years ago) link

That song is currently on the front page of Sub Pop's site.

― Vic Funk, Wednesday, 19 January 2005 18:23 (nineteen years ago) link

thanks for the tip vic.

― owen reading, Wednesday, 19 January 2005 18:28 (nineteen years ago) link

Best Syd Barrett simulacrum I've heard in a long time. I mean that in the best way.

― Blightersrock (Da ve Segal), Thursday, 20 January 2005 04:39 (nineteen years ago) link

i heart this band (from what i know of them).

― cathy berberian (Jody Beth Rosen), Thursday, 20 January 2005 04:58 (nineteen years ago) link

Spiffo dudes, but indeed I'm biased having known about them and heard their music since before their first album was released! Marco to thread so he can say more. ;-)

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Thursday, 20 January 2005 06:21 (nineteen years ago) link

thanks for the good words, folks!
i can only add that's pretty curious to see what's happening to the band in USA and UK, while here in Italy almost nobody cares about them...psychedelic pop isn't particularly hip in our country :-)
Btw, I also hope we'll have the chance to release soon even Valende's evil twin...

― Marco Damiani (Marco D.), Thursday, 20 January 2005 07:39 (nineteen years ago) link

Malabastardo?

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Thursday, 20 January 2005 15:39 (nineteen years ago) link

I'm excited about their upcoming tour with Dead Meadow.
Valende makes me feverish...in a good way. My girlfriend really liked it when I played it for her last night.

― Trip Maker (Sean Witzman), Thursday, 20 January 2005 15:43 (nineteen years ago) link

just ordered that battiato tribute on forced exp. any idea about specific tour dates, marco? are they supporting dead meadow?

― peter smith (plsmith), Thursday, 20 January 2005 15:50 (nineteen years ago) link

just ordered that battiato tribute on forced exp.

Hurrah! My words go forth. :-)

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Thursday, 20 January 2005 15:51 (nineteen years ago) link

oh shit - you wrote the liners, ned?

― peter smith (plsmith), Thursday, 20 January 2005 16:16 (nineteen years ago) link

I did indeed, at Marco's invitation. :-)

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Thursday, 20 January 2005 16:18 (nineteen years ago) link

J-Gen's Battiato cover is?
anyone covering "Za"?

― Beta (abeta), Thursday, 20 January 2005 16:37 (nineteen years ago) link

J-Gen's Battiato cover is? Meccanica!
anyone covering "Za"? unfortunately not...

Keeping fingers crossed, the Jennifers should play a couple of concerts at SWSX and from there they should start a one month tour with Dead Meadow. New York and L.A. shows are scheduled, I just hope final details will come in soon: i can easily imagine the jennifers going lost forever on one of your highways...
i hope also i can make it to austin and some east coast gigs (nyc record stores here i come!) - obviously, just let us know and we will put you on the guest list.

ps Ned, Malabastardo sounds terribly good - i will suggest it to marco & alessio.

― Marco Damiani (Marco D.), Thursday, 20 January 2005 16:57 (nineteen years ago) link

New York and L.A. shows are scheduled

And OC, surely. ;-)

ps Ned, Malabastardo sounds terribly good - i will suggest it to marco & alessio.

Rah! :-)

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Thursday, 20 January 2005 17:16 (nineteen years ago) link

Jennifer Gentle rule, but I haven't managed to get the new record yet. Marco, any plans for a Boston show? (they can crash at my place, assuming I'm in town).

― Hurlothrumbo (hurlothrumbo), Sunday, 23 January 2005 02:48 (nineteen years ago) link

"It's this year's Blueberry Boat!"

Wanted to be sure that I was the first to officially say it.

― Tim Ellison (Tim Ellison), Thursday, 27 January 2005 04:01 (nineteen years ago) link

*bemused* Maybe I should finally listen to Blueberry Boat.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Thursday, 27 January 2005 04:03 (nineteen years ago) link

I got these dudes' last two albums in a double-pack on a local label here. SO GOOD. They freakout very well!

― haitch™ (haitch), Thursday, 27 January 2005 04:23 (nineteen years ago) link

two months pass...

Revive to note that they are indeed touring and playing California dates later this week, including two LA shows this Friday...

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Tuesday, 12 April 2005 02:38 (nineteen years ago) link

Hmm, I don't know about this band. I saw them opening for Dead Meadow and their non-screechy songs lost momentum after 10 minutes. In fact, most of their songs went on for just a tad too long.

I'm sure the vocals are also an acquired taste, but they were sure cranked up on that night.

― alex in montreal (alex in montreal), Tuesday, 12 April 2005 13:43 (nineteen years ago) link

Valende is a gorgeous record. And there's more to it than Syd Barrett - you got a bit of Incredible String Band dreaminess on the Garden Pts 1&2 and some top notch Joe Meek sci-fi sound trickery on Nothing Makes Sense.
Please come to Scotland - we love our psych!

― Stew (stew s), Tuesday, 12 April 2005 13:54 (nineteen years ago) link

Upcoming shows in California for the rest of the week:

2005-04-13 Bottom of the Hill San Francisco CA Dead Meadow, The Outcrowd
2005-04-14 Amoeba San Francisco CA FREE (!!!) In-store at 7:00 pm
2005-04-15 Spaceland Los Angeles CA Dead Meadow, The Outcrowd
2005-04-15 Amoeba Music Hollywood CA FREE (!!!) In-store at 6 PM
2005-04-16 Voltaire San Diego CA

Apparently they'll also be doing a session for KDVS at some point, not sure when.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Wednesday, 13 April 2005 05:01 (nineteen years ago) link

Actually, here's some info on that very session:

The performance today was really excellent. You will
be impressed. You can hear it over the internet at
www.kdvs.org. Click on schedule, then click on the
Tues. 2:30-4:30 P.M. slot. You can stream it or
download it until next Tuesday. The started playing a little before 3 PM
and played for over an hour!

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Wednesday, 13 April 2005 22:59 (nineteen years ago) link

saw them at sxsw -- incredibly impressed. also, i think i stayed at the same hotel as the band. spied them outside starbucks!!!

― maria tessa sciarrino (theoreticalgirl), Wednesday, 13 April 2005 23:02 (nineteen years ago) link

Hehehe. Nice. The word spreads. :-)

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Wednesday, 13 April 2005 23:05 (nineteen years ago) link

Still trying to find out about the San Diego gig (there isn't any club called "Voltaire"), if anyone has any info.

― Tim Ellison (Tim Ellison), Wednesday, 13 April 2005 23:06 (nineteen years ago) link

maria - why you didn't join us?! it would have been nice to meet you!
(on a non-related note, starbucks was okay for our italian stomachs, even if muffins can kill you).

tim - i'll try to contact alessio again, and let you know about this rather mysterious venue!

― Marco Damiani (Marco D.), Thursday, 14 April 2005 05:51 (nineteen years ago) link

marco, i deal with so many bands that i just kind of leave them alone. at sxsw, if you can get a quiet moment, take it. but i wanted to! next time around. i was going to mention that id be in italy this summer but ill be down in palermo [where my family is from], so we wouldnt be able to hang.

― maria tessa sciarrino (theoreticalgirl), Thursday, 14 April 2005 11:08 (nineteen years ago) link

So good...

Great five piece band. Really pulled off so many of those different types of songs on the album live, and "with teeth," as my wife said. People dancing to gorgeous cover of "Blue Jay Way." Ended their set with a long improvisation piece that was total UFO Club action.

Great.

― Tim Ellison (Tim Ellison), Sunday, 17 April 2005 16:45 (nineteen years ago) link

one month passes...

I just heard this album for the first time last week. I find it quite nice. Kind of reminds me of the Circulatory System album, but not as strenuously weird or droney and more varied melodies. Nice and catchy psych-pop.

― o. nate (onate), Friday, 27 May 2005 19:52 (eighteen years ago) link

:-)

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Friday, 27 May 2005 19:56 (eighteen years ago) link

Hmm, I don't know about this band. I saw them opening for Dead Meadow and their non-screechy songs lost momentum after 10 minutes. In fact, most of their songs went on for just a tad too long.
I'm sure the vocals are also an acquired taste, but they were sure cranked up on that night.

-- alex in montreal

I saw them that night, too - I really liked the show (the album was a favourite of mine, too), but something about the sound that night made the vocals a bit too trebly for my tastes. That opening band was fucking awesome - Hemisphere Gauche's house band or what not! Ha!

― Jay Watts III (jaywatts), Friday, 27 May 2005 20:28 (eighteen years ago) link

They were really excellent in B-more. The second band I've seen open for Dead Meadow that's about a million times better than them (the other being Oneida).

― Zack Richardson (teenagequiet), Friday, 27 May 2005 22:00 (eighteen years ago) link

"I Do Dream You" is the kind of song that I want to listen to again as soon as it finishes playing.

― o. nate (onate), Friday, 3 June 2005 15:03 (eighteen years ago) link

They're great but I find it hard to imagine them as Italians and not from Cambridge or somewhere.

― dog latin (dog latin), Friday, 3 June 2005 15:47 (eighteen years ago) link

Trust me, I find it very easy to believe.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Friday, 3 June 2005 15:48 (eighteen years ago) link

"Nothing Makes Sense" reminds me a bit of Ennio Morricone in places.

― o. nate (onate), Friday, 10 June 2005 14:06 (eighteen years ago) link

one year passes...

Marco, news please!

― Tim Ellison (Tim Ellison), Sunday, 30 July 2006 19:14 (seventeen years ago) link

I'm not Marco but...

New album for Sub Pop coming together, band doing well in general.

http://www.jennifergentle.it
http://www.myspace.com/jennifergentle

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Sunday, 30 July 2006 19:27 (seventeen years ago) link

yes, news! più musica, per favore! valende popped up on my ipods shuffle yesterday and i was like "oh man, this band is so good..."

― mts (theoreticalgirl), Sunday, 30 July 2006 21:57 (seventeen years ago) link

Just as Ned said, they're working quite hard.
New lp & cd of weird/unreleased stuff out; the soundtrack for a documentary about Joe Meek to be recorded soon; the remastered re-release of their second album "Funny Creatures Lane" (plus bonus tracks) for an American label out in early 2007; and, obviously, the next Sub Pop album that will be recorded this August...about whom I won't add anything else :)

― Marco Damiani (Marco D.), Monday, 31 July 2006 12:57 (seventeen years ago) link

But but but you have to mention the 50-person choir and the trained elephant percussion and how you're recording in that huge Montreux studio where you see Queen sitting around looking bored in the gatesleeve from Jazz.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Monday, 31 July 2006 12:58 (seventeen years ago) link

no, I won't mention that...but Thursday night they will play live here in Padova backing an actor reading something out of HP Lovecraft short novels - and this is for real...

― Marco Damiani (Marco D.), Monday, 31 July 2006 13:07 (seventeen years ago) link

But that is brilliant! :-D

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Monday, 31 July 2006 13:07 (seventeen years ago) link

Hopefully yes.
The location is beautiful too: just under the ancient walls of the town, in a kind of 400 years old catacomb.

― Marco Damiani (Marco D.), Monday, 31 July 2006 13:14 (seventeen years ago) link

seventeen years pass...

This album popped into my head recently and I gave it a play for the first time in almost 20 years. Yowzer, it's really great! I love how the singer leans so hard into his Steve Marriott impression it becomes his own thing.

It made me think that I haven't really heard a contemporary band that is directly influenced by sixties psychedelic music or iconography for a while. So is that it? Is sixties rock/pop no longer a thing to be mined, other than say, country-revival albums etc? Would it be a bit like someone referencing 1940s music in the 2000s?

― your mom goes to limgrave (dog latin), Monday, 29 April 2024 09:51 (two weeks ago) link

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Jennifer Gentle - Valende