Popkomm showcase profile: The Jessica Fletchers
Prepare for a dose of Norwegian 60s retro psychedelic pop when The Jessica Fletchers hit the stage for their Popkomm showcase.
The spring and summer has been busy for Norwegian retro masters The Jessica Fletchers who have completed highly successful tours in Europe and in the US. Sold-out shows in Germany, Switzerland and Austria prompted a return by the vibrant quintet and in August the collective headed out for another German/Austrian tour which, according to reports, went down very well with good turnouts and ecstatic audiences.
The band’s latest outing is the celebrated ‘Less Sophistication’ (Perfect Pop/Rainbow Quartz) – released domestically in 2004 and this year in Europe and the US to rave reviews.
Early July saw the band being heralded as Band of the Day at Spin.com. Peter Gaston Wrote: “Let's be glad the Jessica Fletchers favored octogenarian drama over cheesy sitcoms. Could you imagine a band called the Kirk Camerons or the Alex P. Keatons? Or even worse, the Bob Sagets? Sorry, Bob's just indelibly etched into my brain after his guest spot on this week's episode of Entourage; the Olsen twins must be horrified. Anyhow, like Jessica Fletcher -- the bed-and-breakfast sleuth portrayed by Angela Lansbury on Murder, She Wrote -- this Norwegian quintet would have been mighty hot in the '60s. Their sophomore set, Less Sophistication, is a stripped down homage to groovy British pop replete with shagadelic beats, cooing vocals, vintage instrumentation, and gritty guitar jangles.
It's refreshing to hear a record that rather intentionally sounds as if it was recorded directly to tape on a bare bones budget with nary a computer in sight. Songs like the Kinks-y "Summer Holiday & Me" sound like they came straight off one of those Top of the Pops highlight reels on VH1 Classic, with the band all dressed in matching outfits and lip-syncing their performance into strange looking fake microphones. The girls in frilly miniskirts and dudes in turtlenecks and slacks -- the ones that eerily remind us of our parents -- would do "the swim" or shimmy along to the flute-led jam "How Unlucky (Can You Possibly Get)?" atop pastel colored platforms.
The pristine pop on Less Sophistication and the rest of the Fletchers' canon developed in sharp contrast to the metal and prog-rock that reigned supreme in Drammen, a small suburb of Oslo that the Fletchers call home. Seems like that must have been the case throughout Scandinavia: That lovely corner of the globe has, in recent years, consistently delivered savvy, retro pop acts like the Hives, Shout Out Louds, Kings of Convenience, and Mando Diao, to name a few. A mention of those, however, won't make your grandparents' eyes light up like the Jessica Fletchers will.”
The Jessica Fletchers play the Alte Hause on 16th of September at 8:00pm.
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