Portrait: The Jessica Fletchers

Murder is the hobby of the real Jessica Fletcher in the US television series "Murder, She Wrote", which was popular in the late 80s and early 90s. Mrs. Fletcher is an elderly lady who writes detective novels and solves a few murders between books; luckily, she is always at the right place at the right time.

The five young Norwegians from The Jessica Fletchers are quite the opposite. They deal with life rather than the dead and somehow they are living at the wrong time.
"Fuck the 80s and the bloody 70s. I wish it would be 1966 again," sings Thomas Innstø on the debut album "What Happened To The?" The melodic-psychedelic pop-rock sound of this period is also the trademark of the band, which was founded in 1997 in Drammen, near Oslo. Shortly later, the self-proclaimed flower children moved to the Norwegian capital. The change of location paid off, because in 1999 they signed with the largest native indie pop label Perfect Pop Records, where they then published the EP "Sorry about the noise!" At home they quickly advanced to the insider tip, but for the rest of the world they remained for the time being unknown.

That changed when they changed to the New York indie label Rainbow Quartz. Now The Jessica Fletchers could tour throughout Europe and that they did, extensively. At the same time, "What Happened to The?" came out in Germany as well as the following album, "Less Sophistication", which has been in the shops since March 2005. The single "Summer Holiday & Me" even developed into a minor hit.

"I just want to get people to dance. That's what counts. They should be able to drink a beer in peace and just be happy. They should be able to listen to our music without stressing their brains," says singer Thomas Innstø. The Jessica Fletchers pursue this lofty goal without loosing their artistic identity in the process. The colourful sound of the swinging Sixties sounds absolutely authentic with Hammond organ, an arranged background choir and plentifully celebrated "yeeaaaahhs" and "uuuuuhhs", and not at all embarrassing. Slow, psychedelic parts alternate with fast rock numbers and ballad-like passages are not lacking.


The scraping organ sounds blend with the funky guitar riffs and mysteriously distorted ensemble of exotic instruments. Here and there a few bongos, a flute, a mellotron and suddenly you have the scent of freedom in your nose; it smells like incense, meadows of flowers and a VW bus without a catalytic converter.

The Norwegians can work magic, and it's genuine fun to hear them at work. It is never insistent, they always remain accessible. Sure, here and there something sounds stolen. You hear the Beatles, the Monkees, the Kinks, the Beach Boys - the list goes on nearly forever. But the result is the idealised essence of that in the sound of the 60s which appeals to five guys in their mid 20s: lots of groove and melody and good vibes. Although the title promises just the opposite, in comparison to the debut album, "Less Sophistication" sounds somewhat spruced up, which may lie in the participation of producer Steve Wold, who has also worked for Modest Mouse. Nevertheless, The Jessica Fletchers are more than "Just Another Fashion Band". They possess the little kick which makes them what they sing about: the greatest party on the planet.
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