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In the Dead of Winter |
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Jenn Grant Born and raised on Prince Edward Island, Halifax-based Jenn Grant embodies the naked melancholy of roots, and the shimmering effervescence of vintage AM pop. She understands the cosmic connection between Patsy Cline and Brian Wilson, and her oeuvre has elements of both polarities and everything in between. She intuits the power of nuance and beguiles like no other singer you are likely to hear. Grant toured Europe this year with the pop orchestral band The Heavy Blinkers and as a solo artist, played the Toronto Film Festival and was asked to open for Feist & Josh Ritter. Jenn has also been fortunate enough to share the stage in intimate venues on several occasions with Julie Doiron as well as Ron Sexmith. Most recently, Jenn completed a three-week tour of Germany, and is currently organizing tour dates to support her upcoming release. Orchestra for the Moon, Grant’s debut full-length is a lush album of textured pop that puts her honeyed voice front and center. Whether accompanied by her band The Night Painters (Dreamer), stripped down to orchestral harp (Rainy Day) or string quartet (Blue Skies), Grant’s vocals remain the focal point. On In a Brown House, she duets with legendary songwriter Ron Sexsmith, and the result is tender and moving. Recorded at CBC’s studio H in Halifax, and produced by the Heavy Blinkers David Christensen and Jason MacIsaac, Orchestra for the Moon boasts a who’s who of the city’s finest. Matt Mays, Jill Barber, and Dale Murray (Cuff the Duke, Hylozoists) all contribute to this special album that mines a smooth pop vein, while staying true to Grant’s dizzying live performance. At times country, and other times, venturing into reggae and baroque, Orchestra For The Moon introduces a fine songwriter with a timeless, soulful voice. Grant is as convincing in the muted and dulcet tones of Francoise Hardy or Astrud Gilberto, as she is belting out gritty and world-weary tones akin to Stevie Nicks. This album consolidates elements of Dusty Springfield’s Dusty in Memphis and traces of Tusk-era Fleetwood Mac, into a pastoral folk-pop album as magical as the woman who created it. Record stores will probably treat her album as roots or folk or some earthy subdivision of pop, but it's really just magic that's heard and not seen. Listen as close as you like, but by the end, you won't know how she did it. - The Globe and Mail It’s rare that an album is as immediately arresting as Jenn Grant’s Orchestra For The Moon, and even rarer that it remains so right through to the last sweet, quivering note. But the Halifax-based Grant has a voice like raw silk and songwriting skills to back it up.-Exclaim! Magazine A debut that puts many others to shame, indie validation be damned.-Exclaim! Magazine (second review) From its unassuming arrival, the instantly likeable album features intricate and unique song structures, confident arrangements and vocals that evoke-- sometimes simultaneously --both Feist and Patsy Cline.-National Post What's remarkable is that this Canadian singer writes songs perfectly suited to her vocals, which hover somewhere between Aimee Mann and a mellow Dusty Springfield.-North Jersey.com Grant ensures to take the listener on an engaging ride from noble visions to conversational poetry. -Soul Shine Magazine
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