Jenny Owen Youngs
Country of origin:
U.S.
Type of music generally:
Alternative folk/rock
Status:
Most recent release, It's Dangerous to Go Alone (ep, 2022)
See also:
Jenny Owen Youngs's siteJenny Own Youngs' Bandcamp site
Wikipedia's entry on Jenny Owen Youngs
Comparisons:
Erin McKeown, touches of Thea Gilmore and Liz Phair
Covers/own material:
Own
General comments:
New Jersey-ite Jenny Owen Youngs is an avowed fan of Erin McKeown and is basically like a version of Erin if she grew up listening to Liz Phair. (paul2k@aol.com)
Comments about live performance:
Jenny Owen Youngs was fantastic. This woman is one of those own-the-stage people. She had good stories, talked while tuning (United Airlines broke her "good" guitar). She's funny, sassy, snarky and yes, has the songs to back it up. I saw her last year and had a few reservations about her musically, but no more. (3/24/07, shrub@mac.com)
Recommended first album:
Batten the Hatches
Recordings:
- Batten the Hatches (2007)
- Transmitter Failure (2009)
- An Unwavering Band of Light (2012)
- Exhibit (2012)
- Slack Tide (EP, 2015)
- Night Shift (EP, 2019)
- Echo Mountain (2021)
- It's Dangerous to Go Alone (EP, 2022)
Batten the Hatches
Release info:
2007—Nettwerk—0 6700 30648 2 8
Availability:
Wide
Ecto priority:
Highly recommended
Group members:
Jenny Owen Youngs—acoustic guitar, bass, banjo, voice
Guest artists:
Adam Christgau—drums, shaker, kick, coffee cans, floor tom, tambourine, voice
Cicero Jones—organ, French horn
Andrew Platt—upright bass, bass, bells
Bess Rogers—flute, voice
Dan Romer—electric guitar, Rhodes, synth, programming, footstomp, bass, voice, all arrangements
Hawk—viola, voice
Patrick Petty—cello
Bob Pycior—violin
Andrew Futral—synth; arrangement assistance (3, 5); arrangement, programming, additional instruments and "aahs" on "Woodcut (The Age of Rockets remix)"
Chris Hembree—piano
Jon Samson—digital kittens
James Cucinotta—bass clarinet
Tim Petrochko—violin
Wil Farr—electric guitar
Oscar Chabebe—tabla
Ronen Codor—harmonium, arrangements on "Keys Out Lights On"
Jordan McLean—flugelhorn
Produced by:
Dan Romer (additional production on "Keys Out Lights On" by Ronen Codor)
Comments:
Funny, funky, jangly folk/pop/rock fusion, musically upbeat, though often with dark lyrics. Nettwerk's reissue of Jenny Owen Youngs' 2005 debut is a winner. (The albums are the same except the 2007 version adds "Drinking Song" and omits the "Fuck Was I" child-friendly radio edit.) I can't describe it much better than the All-Music Guide which says she "sounds like an entirely successful fusion of Liz Phair's perceptive and brashly funny lyrics and the orchestrated folk-pop of Regina Spektor and Erin McKeown, with just a hint of Nellie McKay's jazzy cabaret leanings and Cat Power's throaty, confessional angst." (JoAnn Whetsell)
Transmitter Failure
Release info:
2009—Nettwerk—0 6700 30840 2 4
Availability:
Wide
Ecto priority:
Highly recommended
Group members:
Jenny Owen Youngs—ukulele, electric guitar, acoustic guitar, voice
Guest artists:
Dan Romer—electric guitar, Nashville guitar, acoustic guitar, bass guitar, keys, glockenspiel, marimba, programming, percussion, ukulele, accordion, organ, banjo, voice
Chris Kuffner—double bass, bass guitar, serious electric guitar, voice
Adam Christgau—hands and feet, drum kit, percussion, voice
Bess Rogers—electric guitar, flute, voice
Meredith Godreau—voice
Saul Simon-MacWilliams—moog, voice
Hiroko Taguchi—violin
Olivier Manchon—violin
Jessica Troy—viola
Ben Kalb—cello
Brad Gordon—mbira, percussion
Wil Farr—voice
Kenny Warren—trumpet
Dave Smith—trombone
Produced by:
Dan Romer
Comments:
Batten the Hatches romped all over the folk spectrum, from light to poppy to aggressive and everywhere in between. Transmitter Failure is more intense and reminds me a lot more of Thea Gilmore. Excellent release. (JoAnn Whetsell)
An Unwavering Band of Light
Release info:
2012
Availability:
Wide
Ecto priority:
Highly recommended
Comments:
Another energetic and enjoyable album. If you liked her previous two, you will enjoy this as well. (JoAnn Whetsell)My main source of upcoming releases never contained any mention of Jenny Owen Youngs' new record and I only heard about it by accident—about half a year after it had been released. I guess Jenny Owen Youngs needs a better publicist. But other than that, I'm not sure she needs anything: this is a solid release that builds on Transmitter Failure and demands your undivided attention while you listen to it but once it's got that, it manages to engulf you completely with its raw and feisty sound. (raschee@gmail.com)
Thanks to JoAnn Whetsell for work on this entry.
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