Jenny Owen Youngs - An Unwavering Band of Light

Jenny Owen Youngs - Referencing Johnny Cash, Kate Bush, Tom Waits and Jack White as her "spirit animals", Brooklyn songwriter returns with her third full length album...a Nettwerk label signing in 2006 yielded a series of fine, indie folk/pop albums and EP's with a smart, sharp edge... Youngs has now gone DIY with an impressive fan-funded disc once again produced and mixed by multi-instrumentalist Dan Romer (Ingrid Michaelson, Jukebox the Ghost)..."louder and faster" is how she sums up her new songs // Release: An Unwavering Band of Light (February 7) // Sounds like: the bright, melodic hard candy shell of Youngs' bristling pop choruses melts away to reveal an unexpectedly tart and tangy center...this is wry, often witty and ascerbic lyricism melded with a spangley melody and a voice that wavers between soft-focus sultry and commanding spunk...

Quote: "We approached the new album with the intent to explore grittier percussion and drum sounds, and to strive for a more live sound while still maintaining Dan’s studio precision. Hopefully that’s what will come across..." // What we like: Lead track "Your Apartment" balances a large sing-a-long chorus hook with an off-kilter rhythm and Youngs' plaintive but reserved vocals -- we love the analogy of checking out a potential lovers' apartment with the possibility of viewing an exposed soul...producer and arranger Romer just keeps getting better and better, a working relationship that sounds completely sympatico with Youngs' musical vision...

Jenny Owen Youngs - "Your Apartment" (from An Unwavering Band of Light)

Jenny Owen Youngs - "Here Is A Heart" (from Transmitter Failure)