Jennylee
– BAND ON THE WALL, MANCHESTER –
Releasing an album on the 11th December and touring it before it’s even out, doesn’t sound like a move learnt from the PR textbook. But judging by tonight’s crowd, such things don’t appear to matter if your Jenny Lee Lindberg of Warpaint fame. If you don’t know, she’s the bassist who produces the groove they are so well-known and a vocalist on two songs from their last album including the popular ‘Disco/Very’
Discounting those who’ve visited some dodgy torrent sites, we’ve heard just one song, ‘Never’. It’s catchy and memorable, but it doesn’t really give us too many hints about what’s to come.
Jenny and four others soon come on stage, with Jenny taking centre stage purely as a frontwoman. That’s one question answered, but as they go into their first song she keeps us guessing on the song title. It’s a song driven by a driving bass line and has a immersive ending that leaves us wanting more.
‘Boom Boom’ is more fun than the former and sees Jenny really enjoy her newfound position on stage. Here, she parades up and down the stage like she’s done it all before and hauls her head back as she sings the punchy chorus. She even manages to do this towards the end while singing lyrics that wouldn’t have been out of place on Sufjan Steven’s ‘Carrie and Lowell’; ‘Society is anxiety, it’s a misery, a myth’.
Lead single ‘Never’ continues this vibe, its catchy and captivating with a chorus that would lodge in anyone’s mind. ‘Long Lonely Winter’ adds some needed depth to the performance and is a bit more intimate than tonight’s earlier tracks. Luminous lighting perfectly soundtracks the track’s ethereal guitar part and it’s definitely a track to check out when the album, ‘right on!’, drops on Friday.
Despite enjoying her moment in the centre stage, Jenny then takes back her trusty bass guitar to the cheers of the crowd. She does this for ‘He Fresh’, a song with some lovely guitar parts not dissimilar from The XX but one that ultimately leaves us a bit cold.
Nirvana comparisons can’t help be drawn on the next track ‘Something in the way’ in both bass and lyrics. That’s definitely not a criticism, as the song is influenced by others but with lots of moments of great individuality.
Things take a slight slide when Jenny and the band perform Warpaint’s ‘CC’. The crowd may be appeased, but it is definitely a lesser version of the original and doesn’t carry the same verve without the other three members.
Luckily for us though she doesn’t end it on this drab moment, but instead at the opposite end of the scale with ‘Riot’. The bass line for this could soundtrack that sleazy disco song we all hate to love and it’s a massive amount of fun. Its a great ending to a good night and while Jenny Lee Lindberg aka Jennylee may not be a fully realised project just yet, there’s clearly a lot for us to get excited about.
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Hi all, my name is Paddy and I have a love for everything from African music to indie to house (basically anything other than heavy metal). Gigging and listening to albums are genuinely the things I most value and love doing.
