Jenny O. is an artistically inclined singer songwriter based in Los Angeles. Her latest record, Spectra, her fourth in total, sounds immediately as if LA is where it was made.
It reminded me of the kind of artist that might have featured in Robert Altman's wonderful Short Cuts, a mash up of Raymond Carver short stories. Possibly a highly strung one, but also highly gifted and impossibly attractive, who, in terms of the art she produces, might operate in the same general ball park as Jackson Pollock. Perhaps I'm being flighty, but it's all there for me.
The opening track Pleasure in Function sounds uncannily like Lily Allen's The Fear in terms of its emotional and melodic arc. Not that I mind that a bit, because as far as ginormous Pop smashes go, that's a pretty good one.
From there it veers off in different directions for the course of the album. Jenny is clearlynot willing to be pigeonholed, although it's fair to say that most of her songs are primarily Pop tunes although they co-opt Psychedelic and New Wave tropes as required.
It's an alluring record although whether its hooks and melodies are distinctive enough to make it a true big hitter remains to be seen. For the time being I'm sufficiently impressed to give it 8.
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