FEATURE:
Revisiting…
Jenevieve - Division
__________
AN album…
PHOTO CREDIT: Universal Music Group
that passed a lot of people by, Jenevieve’s debut album, Division, is well worth another spin. Released on 3rd September last year, it is an album that signals a promising and bright new artist. The Miami artist has an incredible sound that fuses R&B and Soul. Although she has a diverse range of influences, her music and sound is very much her own. I am going to end with a review of Division. Before that, okayplayer. spoke with Jenevieve last year about her amazing debut album:
“In 2020, the LA-based rising artist garnered traction when she dropped her first single “Medallion,” an emo cut that prepared new listeners for the expansive sound that was set to come. A month after dropping her debut single she shared “Baby Powder,” a track that showcased the singer’s knack for crafting catchy choruses. Both tracks reveal Jenevieve’s fixation with creating music that relies on themes. She isn’t afraid to address past relationships, lost love, gun violence, and other moments of her life through her music. For that reason, her fanbase remains loyal and unwavering.
After spending some time adjusting to a new record deal with Universal, Jenevieve unleashed Division on Friday. Executive produced by her frequent collaborator Jean Benz, the 11-track album has a retrospective feel throughout. It’s also majorly influenced by neo-soul, a genre of music Jenevieve has an affinity for.
Her taste in music stems directly from her mother, who constantly played artists like Erykah Badu, India Arie, Joe, and Zhane in their home during Jenevieve’s younger years.
“Watching their videos and seeing how cool they looked, and the catchy melodies and sound always made me feel good,” she shared in an email. “Their vibe alone was so cool to me and that inspired me as a child.”
Division, her first full-length, derives from her creative partnership with Jean Benz. The two met in 2019 after she picked up her life and moved to Los Angeles. She shared that the duo started creating music for fun upon meeting and that their chemistry was instant, so much so that not even a hot summer day working in a tiny room with no AC could deter them”.
Jenevieve is hopeful that fans leave their listening experience of Division feeling encouraged.
“I hope people find joy in the music,” she said. “If it inspires or motivates someone to follow their dreams or do good, then that would be my most rewarding feeling. I just want to make music that people can connect with and make them feel good.”
Division is an impressive debut, and if Jenevieve continues staying true to herself, the sky is the limit for the singer”.
I am new to Jenevieve, but I am impressed and hooked on Division. I am looking ahead to see what comes next. She has released music recently, so it does seem like we may get another album before too long. It is a shame that her debut album did not get more focus and reviews. Maybe people do not know about her in the U.K. Her music definitely warrants more exposure here. SPIN chatted with Jenevieve early this year about the reaction to her album and how things were getting on:
“I’ve heard my songs enough in stores, just shopping. There was somebody driving and then they were playing it,” she recalls. “But you know, just the fact that people are listening, that’s great. But radio’s like, you know, that’s like a whole other thing.”
Radio may very well become the next home for Jenevieve’s vast musical IQ, which is thanks in part due to her childhood roots and early love for dance, in no time. As she’s shared, she began dancing the moment she could walk and credits much of her music taste–which began with a draw to acts like Sade–to those formative years surrounded by everything from flamenco to hip-hop.
“There was a lot of Cuban music around me growing up,” Jenevieve says. “So it was like the live music and feeling of music with dance as well. It was just a mixture of like, you know, hip-hop, Britney Spears, or like Michael Jackson. And then like, I’ll go to salsa class, or just hear the instrumental flamenco music.”
As for the Jacksons, the comparisons have certainly been tossed around over the last couple of years. Some of the poppier cuts off Division have seen nods to Michael or Janet, and Jenevieve’s music video for “No Sympathy” has a similar pop-arty animated flair as Jackson’s 1987 track “Leave Me Alone.” She credits Al Jarreau for inspiring that visual in particular, too, and says plenty of what you see on the screen is also a reflection of her admiration of cinema.
“A movie definitely has inspired me to get emotional to write a song. Or, like, sometimes a song will remind me of a movie,” she says. “And I’m trapped in the feeling that maybe that movie reminded me of something in my life or like. If I’m watching a movie, and I’m feeling a certain way, maybe I’d want to put that feeling that I felt in a song.”
Visuals aside, Jenevieve’s future is looking bright in the months ahead. Not just in terms of her upcoming headlining gigs, but for her own artistic growth following the release of her debut. Division may have established her as a hidden gem of sorts for some fans this past year, but for her, it’s time for more listeners to discover that box in the park.
“I still feel like I have more to show,” she says. “So it is a good introduction. But I still feel like I
have more to introduce”.
Before wrapping up, I would say that people need to check out Jenevieve’s Division. One of the best debut albums of last year, go and check it out! Pitchfork were among the few who had their say. Although they hinted at some minor flaws, they were positive about Division:
“Division, her debut album, plays out like a tribute to her parents’ collection of burned CD mixes, time-traveling through decades of music with carefully selected references filtered through producer Jean Benz, who also serves as Jenevieve’s songwriting partner. “Medallion” is a slinky hip-hop soul vow of protection; the walking bass of the swooning “No Sympathy” recalls an ’80s Whitney Houston; the aqueous “Exit Wounds” might sound indebted to Miguel or Marvin Gaye depending on the age of whoever’s listening. Rather than aesthetic-scraping gestures, these songs come off as modernized interpretations of the music the Miami singer grew up idolizing. R&B artists continue to mine the late ’90s and early 2000s for inspiration when they aren’t making smoky Trap&B or sliding on slick Soulection-inspired production. Division doesn’t completely escape those trappings, but by looking beyond that timespan, Jenevieve finds a set of sonic textures that shake things up.
Jenevieve learned how to talk about love from the past, but she finds ways to add modern flourishes to her songs and tweak established formulas. On the swaying post-chorus of “No Sympathy,” flashes of Doja Cat appear when she coos “Don’t cry.” When she cuts herself off from rhyming “over” with “Rover” on “Nxwhere,” it’s done with a rapper’s mischievous smirk—she doesn’t want her writing to be that predictable. Mainly, her vocal tone is reminiscent of Syd’s untempered cool. The album opens in the middle of a misty daydream where she sings of a sky on fire, riding into Atlantis, and eternal love. Then the grooving bassline of “Midnight Charm” breaks that dream sequence to talk about something more realistic, like “celestial vibes.”
Jenevieve moves through her satisfyingly consistent debut album with a sense of self-assurance that doesn’t allow her to look into the rearview at missteps. Following up a song as arresting as “Baby Powder” has to be a little intimidating, but Jenevieve doesn’t seem to be fazed by it. Her whimsical songwriting isn’t as interested in replicating that moment as it is in creating new ones. She sees doves in bright black skies, soulless souls, and mellow eyes that hypnotize, not exes she’s lovesick over. “I have emotions/I can’t describe,” she laments on the lullaby-like closing track, which functions as a sort of ode to the misunderstood and ignored. “It’s hard to see it through these eyes.” Jenevieve spends much of Division lost in her own mind, writing about emotions she’s experiencing at the same time she’s processing them. When given enough time to wipe her eyes, Jenevieve leaves no room for misinterpretation”.
If you have not heard Division, I would say Jenevieve is an artist that is well worth backing and getting invested in. I love her debut album, and it is one that I have spun a few times lately. An artist with a long future ahead, let’s hope more critical eyes and ears turn her way for album number two. Jenevieve is someone that…
EVERYONE should get behind.