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Concert Tue Jan 30 2007
To the Beat Kitchen We Go...
Jennifer O'Connor has some well-intended preconceptions to overcome. Time Out hailed her as "Another Liz Phair or Elliott Smith waiting to happen," a reference that's almost foreboding; not only is she not entrenched in Smith's weepiness, and, well, death, but she shows no inclination toward Phair's own decline into disappointing pop.
Something earthier is afoot on her album Over the Mountain, Across the Valley and Back to the Stars, and this organic approach anchors the album. Sure, she's working a relatively solo career, but other players show up to flesh out the CD: Yo La Tengo's James McNew and Sparklehorse's Kendall Meade, among others. The effect is a soothing, yet engaging, album. Tracks like "Century Estates" and "Sister" are tempered by O'Connor's quiet, husky voice, while "Complicated Rhyme" brandishes up-tempo Latin rhythms. See for yourself when she plays with Kevin Devine and the Goddamn Band, Koufax, and Pablo on Friday, Feb. 2 at the Beat Kitchen.