Flickering like a Pathé film reel of contrasting snapshots from a parochial life out in the sticks to the bright lights of neighbouring cities, you’d be hard pushed to pin the sound of the multi-layered experimentalism of melodic explorer Postcards From Jeff. Owing as much of a debt to the The Notwist as well as kindred spirits The National and recalling the ambiance of acts such as Smog, Guided By Voices, and the pop sentimentality of Fleetwood Mac’s ‘Tango In The Night’, here, each musical ‘postcard’ is a personal greeting delivered through orchestral sections of old synths, Mellotrons that move in tandem with electronic and organic drums, plus heavily processed guitars. Meticulously played then woven together by just one individual, Postcards From Jeff is heavily textured and cinematic, yet retains the charm of a far more simple stream of consciousness.
A stream of light cascades through a window highlighting the silhouettes of a few unidentifiable objects. A man is kneeling down holding a small dusty stack of soft-cornered, yellowing postcards bound together with string… It’d be the perfect source of inspiration for any artist, not least the sound curious, multi-layered experimentalism of melodic explorer Postcards From Jeff. But whilst a fictitious film scene may stir the imagination, the best ideas often come closer to home. Take the rural Yorkshire town of Ripponden – in its midst lies the recording studio where Postcards From Jeff spends his days as the producer of other artists before crafting his own escapist widescreen material. Although conceived in the heart of a very British landscape, flickering like a Pathé film reel of contrasting snapshots from a parochial life out in the sticks to the bright lights of neighbouring cities, you’d be hard pushed to pin the sound of Postcards From Jeff to any one location. Underpinned by Lost In Translation-style isolation or a self-proclaimed “perennial yearning for pastures new and greener grass,” elements of far flung folk, electronica, country, krautrock and pop are seamlessly brought together in a worldlier embrace.
2014 saw the release of Postcards From Jeff’s debut self-titled EP which was accompanied by two dark and dreamlike videos made in collaboration with award winning filmmaker Steve Glashier. This year, beginning with Suburban Girl, Glashier is onboard to direct all three of the debut albums accompanying videos, creating not only the cinematic snapshots that the songs deserve but turning all three into one single narrative, a short film within a film, following the complexities, themes and imagery of the record and delivering a piece of cinema that can truly turn Modern Language into the soundtrack it evokes.
Postcards From Jeff: Modern Language (Official Video)
Underpinned by a Lost In Translation-style isolation or a self-proclaimed “perennial yearning for pastures new and greener grass,” elements of far flung folk, electronica, country, krautrock and pop are seamlessly brought together in a worldlier embrace.
Postcards From Jeff: Modern Language Lyrics:
