What makes Jenny O., yet another female singer/songwriter from New York/Los Angeles who plays acoustic guitar, stand out from all the others who also have great voices, personal lyrics, and know how to compose a well-structured song? I’m not sure. But there’s definitely something.
Maybe it’s the background “woos” in “Won’t Let You Leave.” They add a sense of reality here—they ground the tune, and keep it from being twee. I hate twee. Jenny O. is most definitely not twee. It makes the studio-produced song feel live, as if she’s creating it right here right now. Kind of like Jill Sobule (particularly on the title track of the EP—a song that should move you to shivers if you have anything close to a heart in your body). Her depth—by which I mean her attention to the background of her own music, as opposed to putting everything on the surface—may be down to her having been a background singer for Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy. But I bet it’s just instinct, knack, raw talent.
She feels a little too edgy for Starbucks, again because her songs feel so raw and new. So many artists of her stripe sound prepackaged. Jenny O. does not. She’s an original. Can’t wait to get concert tickets when she comes into town.
Well OK Honey
http://soundowl.com/embed/1jf1
Buy it for four bucks at Bandcamp
