it's great live

Abby Jenne and her band play socially conscience, mischievous, acoustic folk-rock. Her best tracks, like “Brave New Woman,” are quirky country-lite charmers. Jenne’s voice has a twang that reminds me of the Essex Green’s Sasha Bell or Alanis Morissette in her softer moments. There’s a bad-ass charm in lines like “So Miller, my darlin’/ Please hear me a callin’ /And get your ass back to the States/ ‘Cos although Canada’s cool/ I fucking hate school/ And I don’t neither much like to wait,” from “Miller.” Though the record is all over the place [genre-wise], it is generally likeable. Her cover of Black Sabbath’s “War Pigs” is an unexpected treat.... The best parts of the album cause a spontaneous grin and a good deal of toe-tapping. A nice debut from East Barre’s Star Pudding Productions. Colin Clary

Long time Vermont folk artist Abby Jenne has discovered her inner classic rock. While many of the tracks retain some of the 'folkiness' of her solo work (see especially "Miller", the ridiculously infectious "Brave New Woman" and "Tiny Wars"), the album makes good use of the band to give the CD a more powerful sound to match a uniquely powerful voice. The varied genres on the CD can be attributed to an artist seeking the song and sound to match her voice and stage personality. There are comparisons to made here with the late Jeff Buckley, another folkie struggling with his own inner arena-rock demons (by way of example, consider "Peasant Tense" or "Johnson, Vermont"). This is not a folk album nor is this a folk artist. Acoustic guitars and all, this is an album meant to be listened to as loud as possible. Lyrically, few artists are able to so incisively and creatively deal with the 'inner being'. Rather than reducing soul-searching and life's trials to mere naval gazing, Abby Jenne adds just the right dashes of humour and vitriol to her subjects. One quibble though with the humour: some of her songs, while quite funny, can occasionally wander into the realm of novelty song. ("Redneck Love" and the tongue-in-cheek "Barre, VT come to mind) Nevertheless, this is an excellent album from a local Vermont legend. While failing to capture the excitement of her live shows, it will serve as a good introduction to an important and rapidly rising perfomer who is seeking to turn inside out the cliche of the acoustic singer/songwriter.

In a state knee deep with excellent singer songwriters, Abby Jenne and her band stand out as purveyors of truly original, highly listenable, thoughtful material, and stellar musicianship. No one can turn a lyric like Abby, and her voice is as sweet as honey. If you have the chance to see Abby live, buy the album and get to know her songs before the show, you wont regret it. If you can't see Abby live, then buy the album and wish that you could! This album is worh every penny at double the price.