Psyched Up Janis

In their short but prolific career, Psyched Up Janis was Scandinavia’s version of the post-grunge, straight-ahead guitar band. Singer/guitarist <a href="spotify:artist:3x0AYTwu5xlvORnoDKPnLb">Sune Rose Wagner</a> and bassist Jakob Jørgensen first played together under the name Western Front in 1989, in their native Sønderberg, Denmark. After recording demos in 1992, the duo (plus drummer Martin Bjerregård) moved to Copenhagen and self-financed their first major EP, 1994’s I Died in My Teens, in Sweden. The upbeat melodies and hard-driving guitars were irresistible; the <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Replay%22">Replay</a> label distributed the EP in Europe, and Kerrang! named the title track a single of the week.

With their live bona fides established locally, producer <a href="spotify:artist:2TFlUuw1I60a1Qbyl3Qmfs">Craig Leon</a> (who helmed the <a href="spotify:artist:1co4F2pPNH8JjTutZkmgSm">Ramones</a>' self-titled debut) agreed to produce Psyched Up Janis' 1994 debut album, Swell, after catching a memorable gig at the Montmarte club in Paris. The <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Island+Records%22">Island Records</a> imprint <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22This+Way+Up%22">This Way Up</a> distributed Swell throughout Europe. Not long after that, Bjerregård left the band, replaced by Jesper “Yebo” Reginal of <a href="spotify:artist:0hu9HVlu0fHuztU8QsdVDk">Thau</a>.

<a href="spotify:artist:2TFlUuw1I60a1Qbyl3Qmfs">Leon</a> returned to produce Beats Me (1997) and Enter the Super Peppermint Lounge (1998), the latter of which was recorded by the duo of <a href="spotify:artist:3x0AYTwu5xlvORnoDKPnLb">Wagner</a> and Jørgensen, but the alt-rock boom was on the wane, and the album wasn't heard much outside of Denmark. Psyched Up Janis released The Quiet Album in 1999 -- a live-in-the-studio rave-up featuring <a href="spotify:artist:3x0AYTwu5xlvORnoDKPnLb">Wagner</a>, Jørgensen, Yebo, and second guitarist Christian Bech -- and the demos-and-outtakes collection Hi-Fi Low Life that same year. They called it quits after a performance at the Roskilde Festival.

After the band’s split, <a href="spotify:artist:3x0AYTwu5xlvORnoDKPnLb">Wagner</a> found critical success with vocalist <a href="spotify:artist:3C1Hh05M8jHohaNCGgmv0o">Sharin Foo</a> in the garage band <a href="spotify:artist:3LTXHU3DhiYzGIgF2PP8Q8">the Raveonettes</a> and he also produced every studio album for the indie band <a href="spotify:artist:65ewrL6LvcNGMMRVlksNGS">Dum Dum Girls</a>. Psyched Up Janis reunited for live sets at home in 2009 and 2014, and the 2020s years have seen a spate of catalog activity, including the release of The Noisy Album (a 1994 gig at CBGB), The Orange Album (their 1998 set at Roskilde), the B-sides collection Operation Clean Sweep, and a demo set, Swell. ~ Mike Duquette, Rovi