Artist: Jennifer O'Connor
Title: The Color And The Lights
Label: Red Panda
Format: CD
Price: $13.00

well....it's been awhile since I've had the opportunity to write a staff pick, but here I am again, and this week I pick.....

JENNIFER O'CONNOR - "The Color And the Lights" CD on Red Panda Records.
The selling blurb that accompanied the cd was that "This urban cowgirl played Gerard Cosloy's SXSW party by the request of the man himself. Get on the tip before she comes from the left and knocks out Gretchen Wilson.".....now that sounded interesting...we all know GC has great taste...he is married to Sally Crewe after all....then I read..."Listen once and find immediate links to such artists as Mazzy Star and Liz Phair. Listen again and the surface similarities fade away"....so.....I finally listened to the cd and was so blown away, I listened 2 times in a row! Jennifer crosses some of my favorite musicians!! Like a Kathleen Edwards meets Cat Power, or Mary Timony...fantastic!! I even think she summons Graham Parsons on this record!! Jennifer O gives true meaning to "a little bit country...a little bit rock and roll"!!!

POP MATTERS SAYS....
"Sometimes a talent comes along that stops you in your tracks. It's a voice that's aching and real. It's a song that's as uncompromising as it is unsentimental. It's a record that moves your feet and tugs at your heart. It's the sound of Jennifer O'Connor singing songs from her album, The Color and the Light. After making a name in the Atlanta music scene with her former band Violet, O'Connor moved to New York and promptly announced her arrival with her self produced EP - Truth Love Work - a sparse, affecting solo project that earned her comparisons to fellow Brooklyn transplant Elliott Smith. Following on its heels, was O'Connor's self-titled full-length record, earning raves for its stunning attention to narrative and emotional detail. The strength of that record led to gigs in France, England, and across the USA. Jennifer's new album, The Color and the Light, was produced by Al Weatherhead (Mary Timony, Mascott) at the Sound of Music in August of 2004 and features additional instrumentation courtesy of Richmond, Virginia band Maki. The strength of O'Connor's songwriting and guitarwork, coupled with Maki's contributions expands greatly on the sparser sounds of her previous releases. Listen once and find immediate links to such artists as Mazzy Star and Liz Phair. Listen again and the surface similarities fade away: Jennifer O'Connor sounds like no one who's come before, proving she's a musician as dynamic and essential as the color and the light. "Singer-songstress O'Connor's mature melancholic songs flow nice and slow like a lazy stroll through a rainy day with a fine selection of Elliott Smith and Liz Phair on your walkmen." Village Voice. "O'Connor is only interested in making music that she herself likes and respects, and it shows." London Times. "O'Connor's work communicates the belief in the perfect song; the song that reminds you or makes you look forward to, the song with that line that cuts right through to you, the song with the melody that you can't resist."


Check this out: "It Ain't Gonna Work" (real audio)

Check out Moneybrother's debut album "Blood Panic".