“Well that doesn’t explain it at all!” says Jenny Queen. “It’s more like this: I have always loved Gram Parsons and Lucinda Williams, but then in London I had a crush on Hope Sandoval - her voice is just hypnotic. When I lived in NYC I traipsed all over the Lower East Side, catching Elliot Smith at Brownies (Heatmiser shows) or watching Ryan Adams putting away the Pabst at Lakeside Lounge. They became huge musical influences. And in Australia, Kasey Chambers and lesser-known writers like the amazing Jason Walker have given me lyrical inspiration.” Jenny’s are songs that combine a youthful naivety with an almost world-weary sensibility, sung with a passion so rarely found these days, that magical sense that suggests the events portrayed happened a milli-second before the singer entered the studio to record. Musically the fit is just perfect with the voice. There’s no heavy-handed overplaying, just understated notes and chords right where they’re meant to be. It’s a record that teases, embraces and ultimately haunts the listener with its resonance and spirit. Hooking up with Tony Buchen, a multi-talented emerging producer, best known for playing in the Sydney drum and bass outfit, The Baggsmen (formerly The Hive), gave Jenny that slightly off-kilter sensibility she was looking for. “Tony was an unusual choice for a producer on my record because he doesn’t really have a background in alt.country or roots-rock, or whatever, and his background is so different from my own. But he was the perfect call; he brought an entirely fresh perspective to what seems to be turning into a cookie-cutter genre. I just told him, “Think 1970’s California Gold”, and he was off! The musicians on the album come from all over the globe. Many of the players were visiting friends from overseas who happened to be in Sydney at the right time and were willing to play for a few beers. I think the eclectic group of musicians on the album really help keep that ‘different yet familiar’ thing I was going for with the album’s sound.” “I’ll Bring the pills if you bring the wine/ we’ll run her until we cross the state line,” is a lyric that offers an insider’s view of the restless desperation to escape the confines of rural America, where Jenny grew up. “Springsteen was such an important artist for me growing up. He tells stories. No one does that anymore. And they meant so much to me because this is the world I lived in. Always trying to get to someplace better. And I guess I still am. I mean, I’m in Australia, aren’t I?” Now, Jenny Queen takes listeners on a journey - to the places where girls who cry get their cake and eat it too. You bring the wine…she’s got the rest covered. |
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