“Merry Christmas/
It’s April/
I bought you a deadbolt”
Welcome to the world of Jenny Westbury who’ve I’d long admired and whose CDR has been spinning endlessly from computer to my headphones. It’s 30 tracks of clever wordplay, effortless and expressive vocals, and addictive melodies. I’d run into Westbury at a show at the Proletariat ages ago. Rosa told me to catch her as she figured it would be right up my alley and she was right. We (The LP4) have actually asked her to open for us twice and each time I’ve always been impressed by her skills as a writer and as a vocalist.
Being a fan, I’d asked Jenny for a CDR of her stuff for quite some time and she finally (after many requests) made me one. To my surprise the CDR contained 30 tracks and a range that I’d never heard live. For her shows she keeps the songs light and jovial but the CDR proves she has a lot more up her sleeve.
One of my favorite praises of Neil Young was that Young had no internal filter – he would just try anything – and that is what I love about the CDR: one song Jenny is multi-tracking a capella vocals ala Lori Anderson, the next song she’s featuring a kazoo, another may feature a straight pop arrangement, and one even features her dad singing a pirate song with her (I shit you not!). It’s a seriously fun little world to peek into and what’s more self-consciousness is nowhere to be found. Jenny’s never been someone to release things properly, promote her work, or make much of what she does. She simply does it for the sheer enjoyment of making her art, hanging it up on her fridge, and smiling at the result. That’s the kind of art that is always hiding out there for people to discover once they simply tune out the hype about that next national touring band coming to town and recognize the brilliance that is in their own backyard.
But enough dancing about architecture; here are a few songs. See what you think:
05Track05.mp3
This track is a prefect example of Jenny’s syncopated vocal delivery and her sharp melodic sense. I especially love when she sings “If he hollers/ Make him pay/ $50 dollars/ Oh everyday”; up to that point her melody hovers around the root then she unexpectedly just jumps up to the 3rd and 6th and it’s a completely refreshing little bridge with a beautiful resolution. The lyrics are almost stream of consciousness but they flow so smoothly it never seems particularly odd. Oh and “Which one did you really Meenie Miny Moe” is a wonderful bit of nonsense.22Track22.mp3
These are the opening lyrics I began the piece with. It’s a gorgeous little song with lyrics of a dark and nasty humor that show that despite her shy live performances she has a sharp wit. Oh and man that bridge at about 1:30 is so smooth.23Track23.mp3
Jenny packs some sweet melodies, a great vocal performance, and a great little closing chorus in under five minutes or, to put it another way, this song simply blew me away. I asked Jenny why she doesn’t play stuff like this live and she said she felt the slower stuff wouldn’t work so well live. But Jenny’s portrayal of Leah is complex, rich, and engaging*. Simply put, it’s a great example of song as a narrative form.
*By the way this is high praise as this is one of those Torah/Old Testament stories that always annoyed me – let’s just say that I thought Leah and Rachael’s dad was a dick.)21Track21.mp3
OK let me leave you with some straight up pop. There is not much to say but that this exactly what pop should do – put a smile on your face. I will admit I hate how it just ends – it begs to just kick in. Man Jenny should get the Young Mammals to play this live with her. They would totally rip into that coda! But, as it is, it’s a perfect little happy pop pill.
Well That’s it. I hope you enjoy that as much as I do. Thanks for the CDR Jenny.
Hey not bad Ramon. Hear some good influences in there – Joanna Newsom, Joni Mitchell maybe some Lucinda Williams and there’s a certain quirkiness a la Daniel Johnston.
It’s not where I’m at right now so I was surprised how much I liked it.
Coolness. Thanks for listening. I tried to actually write about the songs but it read terribly so the MP3 thing seemed to make more sense. Hopefully others took a listen and liked it.
with all due respect to ms. westbury, your post makes me want to go to sig’s to wade through the dollar stacks to find that neil young rockabilly record.
I put off listening to this because I had mixed her up with that Hearts of Animals woman that I didn’t like, but I finally did today and dug it.
anks Doug. Glad you dug it. Coincidentally though Mlee and Jenny went to the same school together.