Jane From Occupied Europe - Coloursound

"We get a lot of people writing from Germany asking if it's some sort of statement or something, but it's just a good name."

"Swell Maps thought up some really great titles and, er... we just ripped it off."

by Stephen Dalton NME, 3rd March 1990.

Dave Ware, guitarist with JANE FROM OCCUPIED EUROPE, is not yet sick of explaining where his band found their curious moniker. But he might be soon when people start picking up on this West Country five-piece's whiplash whirlpool of dreamily nostalgic noise and gritty modern edge, as captured on their debut single 'Oceans Run Dry' track.

Although the Janes [Jim Harrison (guitar, vocals), Dave Todd (bass), David Ware (guitar, organ, vocals), Colin O'Keefe (guitar), Philip Eason (drums)] began life as a "sprawling Jesus And Mary Chain rip-off", their new beatbox-free incarnation owes less to East Kilbride's cold steel sneer than to the snowstorm swirl of My Bloody Valentine.

"I would say our songs have got a bit more depth than theirs," Dave mumbles modestly. "All we seem to gain is comparisons with other groups... Ride, the Mary Chain, The Telescopes, I've seen all those bands and we tend to go a wee bit further.

"We wouldn't consider ourselves nostalgic people, we just enjoy good music and a lot of the best stuff came from the late '60s and early '70s. But we're not just influenced by that."

And the evidence screams out from projected follow-up single 'Little Valley Town', with wired wall-of-death guitar orbiting a taut trampoline of determinedly danceable drums.

It won't get them on Top Of The Pops (although Dave confesses "we've got a few dance routines worked out already") but it might bore a scorching hole in your record collection.

Ripped by Willfully Obscure to MP3 @ 320

A1 Mourning Glass

A2 Parade

A3 Drift 13

A4 Loss

B1 Trash - A303

B2 God's Sonic Telephone

B3 Obsession

B4 Synaesthesia

JANE FROM OCCUPIED EUROPE, POWERHAUS, LONDON

Michael Bonner, Melody Maker

Jane From Occupied Europe have three guitars. Three. To your average noisenik like me, heaven doesn't usually come any closer than that. It's just such a shame that they weren't loud enough. Sure, there were moments when their strung out, fucked-up hot-wire squall began to turn into my head and whitewash my brain, but there were also moments when it felt like the person standing next to me was listening to "White Light, White Heat" on a very loud Walkman.

But at least Jane From Occupied Europe have songs, and JFOE's front man, Jim Harrison, isn't above a little crooning once in a while. As the guitars of "Parade" smear an impressive and oppressive honey-smudge across the air, Jim's coy, self-effacing vocals lilt despondently in a semi-apologetic pick-and-mix of Guy Chadwick's romantic weltschmertz and William Reid's sullen disdain. They finish with the damn fine "Trash It", where Phil Eason's drum-kit takes on a life of its own and has an epileptic fit.

As Jane From Occupied Europe leave the stage the PA plays "Freak Scene", which is as near to perfect as we're going to get tonight.