Alicia Penney

When not working on a degree in Philosophy or fronting the burgeoning Sydney, Nova Scotia based rock band Yellow, Alicia Penney found the time this past Spring to record the eight song demo Right Out Of ‘Er, featuring material too subtle and personal for Yellow’s full rock band dynamic. Framed only by Penney’s able acoustic guitar playing and voice which is too honest to be considered ethereal but is as enchanting as those of the finest female performers, the album’s sparse arrangements reveal a songwriter mature beyond her years. Beginning guitar at age fifteen and now only twenty two, Alicia possesses a talent that could enable her to emerge over the next decade as one of Canada’s finest songwriters. Her lyrics explore themes of troubled relationships, self doubt, confusion, longing and the nature of friendships, finding power in their straightforwardness - intelligent without straining to be intellectual. Alicia excels not only at relating her protagonists’ aches to the listener but also in allowing the listener to experience the state of the song’s subject. How Can I Sing? relates the story of a jilted lover seeing the object of her affection with another woman, while Over and Over reminisces about an old flame. Stand Still for Days uses more aggressive strumming to create a greater sense of urgency; Pretty Song’s minor key chorus crawls up the spine before rolling down the cheeks. Right Out of Er’s greatest strength is found in its balance of sing along choruses to grab the ears of the pop fan and keep those of the admirer of refined song craft.