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Nov 01, 2023 Web Exclusive By Andy Von Pip

Viji—aka Vanilla Jenner—appears to have found her natural home with the tastemaker label extraordinaire Speedy Wunderground. After being signed to Dirty Hit (home to Wolf Alice and The 1975), Jenner began working with Speedy label founder and renowned producer Dan Carey (you can read more about the process in our interview here), and discovered Carey’s enthusiasm and empowering artist-centered approach helped her further expand her new sonic direction.

So Vanilla is an album that ebbs and flows, is beautifully paced, and allows Jenner’s ear for melody and insightful lyricism to take center stage. It’s an album of contrast, mixing loud and quiet perfectly; from the soaring doom rock of “Down,” which explores the link between suffering and creativity and contains the memorable line “misery makes me holy,” to the wistful hazy late summer escapism of “Sundress in Pink.”

Clearly, the faster-paced tracks such as the shimmering “Anything,” “Sedative,” and the angsty brilliance of “Karaoke” are the ones that initially grab the attention. However, repeated listens really help you appreciate the melodic beauty of softer moments such as “1850” and the gorgeous narcotic “Blanket.” Album closer “Ambien” has the insouciance and ennui of Stoned and Dethroned era The Jesus and Mary Chain and there’s certainly more than enough on offer here to suggest that not only is Jenner a major new musical talent, but also that So Vanilla is quite possibly just the tip of her creative iceberg. (www.facebook.com/vijiwater)

Author rating: 8/10