Grant is seemingly very fond of uplifting chord progressions; it seems to be a trick she’s invested heavily in and this may well be the key to this LP’s charm…
Grant is seemingly very fond of uplifting chord progressions; it seems to be a trick she’s invested heavily in and this may well be the key to this LP’s charm…
Jenn Grant – Orchestra for the Moon
www.konkurrent.nl www.jenngrant.com
Recently Incendiary’s offices have been flooded with LPs from singer songwriters. It’s not necessarily a bad thing; far from it… it’s just difficult to know where to start. Sometimes you just have to take pot luck. Lucky we did with this CD, ‘cos it’s a cracker.
With titles like Morning Break, Dreamer and Rainy Day, you can guess that the mood of the CD is pretty wistful. And yes there are lots of wistful singer songwriters parading their wares at the moment. But there’s a certain charm to this release, best seen in tracks like Unique New York where the track steers purposefully and beautifully between very reflective moments and quietly affirming pop beats.
The playing is just great on this LP; it’s never intrusive, but always present to aid and abet the songs. There’s a country twist to it too, that keeps things nicely upbeat. Grant is seemingly very fond of uplifting chord progressions; it appears to be a trick she’s invested heavily in and this may well be the key to this LP’s charm… you never get one of those super introspective "I hate life/I want to sing about my dreadful past" moments that can lose the listener on recordings such as these. And Grant’s slightly husky voice is charming throughout; from the opener Morning Break she’s got you.
Things get really good with the last few tracks, starting with Britt N’ Kip which is a fabulous, restless hoe-down. After that we get the beautiful, sparse At the Finnish Line followed by the LP’s highlight, Rainy Day which is a gorgeous song, accompanied by that most beautiful of instruments the harp. White Horse takes the elegiac nature of the last song and expands it "with the aid of strings" (yes that’s right, strings) before Blue Skies brings things to a close with a string-led reflection about love (I think).
A great record and one for a summer evenings listen
Words: Richard Foster.