The Weather Inside

One would naturally assume a guy named Jesse Cohen with an Israeli
distribution deal and Hebrew-language song entitled “Streets Of
Jerusalem” would be Jewish. But while Cohen, aka the Weather
Inside, has Semitic lineage on his father’s side, the 28-year-old electronic
wunderkind was raised Christian and just happens to find Jewish culture
fascinating. “You have those things that you like,” he explains. “[For]
some kids it’s France. Some kids like Japan and they buy things that are
Japanese. I had an affection for Israel… I really got into that culture and
started studying Hebrew… Jewish people are resilient and brilliant.” He also
has a great affection for making music, and is quite brilliant at it, condensing
his admittedly “scatterbrained” influences into a succinct, melodic package.
The Weather Inside’s debut full-length, This Colorful Year (Twilight), was
written, produced and performed by Cohen (who has a background as a
studio engineer), and makes its agenda clear right from its rainbow-bright
cover art: Sit back, relax, smile and enjoy. “I want it, on the technical level,
to sound experienced, but I also wanted it to have melodies that people
could hum,” he says. “It sounds funny, but it seems like with the best music,
just a hook gets stuck in your head and you carry it with you throughout the
day. And I think that I wanted [my] music to be enjoyable on that level.” The
album’s 16 tracks mesh the giddy gadgetry of Squarepusher and Aphex Twin
with the irresistible catchiness of Moby and the Postal Service. Yet Cohen’s
sound is neither as arty as the former two nor as precious as the latter. His
lack of pretension may stem from his upbringing in Oklahoma City, best
known to indie heads as the home of the Flaming Lips. “Of course, fashion
hits the coasts first and we tend to be a bit behind in clothing style,” he
confesses. “But as far as music, it rushes through here like anywhere else…
We have quite a bit of subculture.” He adds that, thanks to people like the
Lips, “that spirit of innovation” that runs through This Colorful Year “is in the
city.” And fortunately, the spirit that runs through the Weather Inside is one
with refreshingly simple aspirations: to create, as he puts it, “synthesizerbased
music with an organic feeling. Just to have an overall pop sensibility…
something that will hold value over time.” >>>KENNY HERZOG - CMJ New Music Monthly