Music
The best kept secret in music
Press
By Richard E. Hickey
"Another quiet Wednesday night at the Hub then. Make sure to collect your free copy of Hot Press at the door. Juliet Turner gazes back at you from the front cover and you think: this country needs another singer/songwriter like O'Connell Street needs more road works.
A quite striking looking woman called Jenny Lindfors takes to the stage on her own. Long blonde hair drapes over her acoustic guitar. Beauty alone is not enough to warrant more dreary personal musings, is it? The first song is called ‘Dozing', she says. Here we go, you think, and slouch off to test the generosity of the drinks promos.
By the third song, Jenny has been joined by a backing band and two backing singers, and you find yourself singing along with her even though you don't know the words. The sizeable crowd get a chance to shuffle their feet as the band move into gear on a song called ‘Grab the bull'. Then some excellent vocal sparring between Jenny and her backing singers manages to grab the attention further during ‘This little storm' and ‘Out of control'. Her songs have a distinct American feel to them; she could well have had a seat at The Last Waltz.
Jenny is left alone again for a song called ‘No-one comes closer'. Her voice comes across so strong and powerful that it appears to hit the low Hub ceiling with a bounce and roll over our heads to the back of the room. The introduction of a cello adds to the atmosphere even more and as Jenny sings the chorus of ‘Fading phase', you suddenly realise you've been converted.
The gig finishes with an accomplished rendition of Neil Young's ‘Mr Soul'; Young being a good reference point for Lindfors' songs. So, another name to add to your up-and-coming list, and if she can add some of the more notable songs she sang tonight, she won't be too long getting off it, and onto the A-list.
- The Scope
Discography
Still working on that hot first release.
Photos
Feeling a bit camera shy
Bio
Jenny Lindfors is a 23-year-old singer-songwriter from South Dublin. Like most singer-songwriters she hates being referred to as a singer-songwriter because it conjures up images of hemp-clothed hippies howling through Sweet Home Alabama on Grafton Street, an endeavour not on her current agenda.
Jenny's earliest encounters with music were shaped by her father's collection of southern rock, rhythm and blues, folk, soul and funk albums.
From these early revelations she has honed her own music, rich in impressionistic swirls of finger-plucked acoustic guitar and mesmeric vocal harmonies, woven with bluesy patterns.
The retro sounds of her childhood helped Jenny convince herself she was born on a railroad track, although this was an illusion her parents didn't like to encourage for fear they'd be done for neglect. Nowadays she's just happy to accept she was born thirty years too late.
When backed by her live ensemble of backing singers and drums, bass, guitar and cello, her songs blossom into wholesome folk-rock diamonds. However, her songs work just as well when she plays alone with her acoustic guitar.
So far, her tentative recording sessions have seen her vocals materialize on the soundtrack to Lance Daly's second feature film The Halo Effect (Stephen Rea) and the wittily titled Christmas charity album It's All Bells, on which she croons out a bluesy rendition of Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas.
She plans to record her debut album soon, preferably with the aid of as much dusty analogue antiques as possible. Until then, Jenny Lindfors will be bringing a touch of class and a sprinkling of magic to as many Dublin venues as possible
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