Jennifer O'Connor

If Kathleen Edwards and Liz Phair were thrown in a room together and forced to get along. "On The Color and the Light singer, songwriter and guitarist Jennifer O'Connor gets a helping hand from most of Richmond, Va's make. The band's subtle muscle adds depth to the singer's finely imagined tales of inner turmoil. The title track is given a feeling of almost unbearable melancholy by producer Al Weatherhead's pedal steel contributions--long sustained notes ring in a ghostly, most uncountry style. O'Connor's minimal vocal approach intensifies the bleak loneliness of her tales; the sound of a woman holding onto hope although everything around her is falling to pieces. When she sings, " I know that I'm saved," you're not quite sure if it's a prayer or a curse. Even on rockers like "Beg or Borrow Days" and "Million Dollar Smile," her poker faced delivery undercuts their optimistic message, giving the lyrics and ironic spin that intensifies her songs' excruciating tension." - j poet - 4 stars

Now that Liz is lost in the Matrix, Brooklyn’s Jennifer O’Connor (originally from Connecticut) picks up the ball and buck-n-runs with it. Right from the get-go, The Color And The Light explodes with some of the most compelling mid-fi indie since Exile; O’Connor shares Phair’s deep register, droll delivery and the endearingly limited vocal range that enhances expressiveness rather than hinders it. While these parallels serve as a savvy calling card, O’Connor quickly outpaces them. She’s a more proficient guitarist and (should we go there?) whip-smart songwriter, as evidenced on sparse tracks like the haunting “Saved.” She’s flexible enough to spike the mix with an occasional twanger, and descriptive enough to breathe lyrical life into boy/girl battles without resorting to sexual bluntness. On the album’s second half, O’Connor relies on sheets of melodic feedback for a gauzy dream-pop effect, vowing on the sparkling “Beg Or Borrow Days,” “I’m gonna drink black coffee all night long/Until I write the perfect song.” Based on the trajectory of The Color And The Light, she may not even need as much as a venti.
- Glen Sarvady - CMJ

Jennifer O'Connor is kind of a Liz Phair without the rampant sexuality and explicit lyrics. At times she cranks it up with heavy guitar fuzz ("Million Dollar Smile"), but she also slows it down, getting dark and trancelike ("Why Don't You Do?"). Similarly, O'Connor has one of those voices that lacks a lot of inflection but no depth, which allows her to tackle different styles of music by never overdoing songs. "Saved" and "The Thought of You" are ambient acoustic tracks reminiscent of Elliott Smith, and "Beg or Borrow Days" and "Hole in the Road? have an alternative- country air about them. She's not struggling lyrically either. "If your memory had a timeline/I'd know right where to begin/Driving down that road in Georgia/where the first chords started in," from "Hole In The Road", reflect her inspired lyrical style. Regardless of the Genre, one realizes O'Connor is an undeniable talent."
- evan james - American Songwriter