Odessa Chen

April's Play Guitar,
a national magazine associated with Acoustic Guitar and Guitar Player, features Odessa on the cover.
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Venus Magazine with Sleater Kinney on the cover features a great review: "Odessa Chen's first, self-released albulm, One Room Palace, is a meteorological phenomenon. It is a spooky, stormy, sonically impressive debut from a singer-songwriter with something seriously heavy weighing on her chest. This is the type of gloom that's been missing from the pop music landscape for some time now, the kind Mazzy Star gave us...captivating, tender, beautiful."
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"Sometimes it's a delicate, light falling, with tones and notes gently breezing by, and when the songs rise, a storm is conjured. To add to the majesty, Odessa possesses a voice of wonder." R is For Revenge
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"Her voice at once harbors a precious childlike quality and a beautiful sadness that aims straight for the heart. Chen is quite the poet as well. When she sings lines like �time rolls back storm clouds in reverse, and somewhere in the place where heaven should be, side by side we sleep,� you start to suspect you�ve stumbled upon a diamond in the rough."
Read the new review on �ChopBlock
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"Odessa Chen's self-released One Room Palace is different, special and shiny. It's lonely, autumnal music, often quiet but with deep reserves of raw emotion..."
George Zahora
Devil in the Woods Magazine (no. 17)
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with One Room Palace, Odessa Chen has crafted one of the strongest releases in the independent music world this year...yearning, delicate, wintry, earthy, intelligent, chilling, intricate, folksy, dark, and comforting,...Chen shows a sensitivity in her singing that is largely absent in both mainstream and underground music.
Somewherecold.com
We made top 10 of 2003 Hall of Fame at Somewhere ColdHall of Fame
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Sometimes music can be so gut-wrenchingly sad. And if it�s good enough, you want to keep listening, despite the reminders of heartache and loss. One Room Palace is one of those cd's. Odessa Chen's debut solo album grabs you from beginning to end, and then makes you want to listen to it again because you know you missed something the last time around. Chen's lyrics are smart and she sings them with intensity and an impressive vocal range. Her voice alone is haunting and keeps you mesmerized long after the song is done.
Asian Reporter
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Offbeat songwriters like Jeff Buckley, Iron and Wine's Sam Beam and Kate Bush provided the inspiration {for One Room Palace} but the songs carve out a territory all their own, insinuating themselves into your subconscious and setting up housekeeping. One Room Palace evokes quieter responses in keeping with it's soft, ethereal and generally lovely qualities.
Asian Week
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Equal parts shoegaze dreaminess, symphonic elegance and Bjorkesque quirkiness, One Room Palace is an enveloping listen that drew me in with it's beauty, charm and mixture of delicacy and strength. Volume doesn't always equal power. The quiet power that emerges as you listen to One Room Palace is palpable and immediately evident.
South Of Mainstream
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Forget about all the pretty songbirds who primp and tease their way through vapid three minute tunes about boys. Odessa Chen offers shelter from the diva storm. Chen maneuvers through a series of tracks that appear to be about hurt with uncommon heart, allowing the listener to immerse themselves in the gentle outlines rather than the gut-wrenching specifics. One Room Palace serves as a reminder that there is warmth and light in the often cool and dimly-lit world.
F5
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One Room Palace is slow and gentle, like a stormy sky in slow motion before the rain hits. And then it hits. Chen and co-producer Jeff Byrd combine her delicate vocals and dramatic lyrical content with dreamlike, ever-changing musical arrangements powered by themes of love and death, longing and beauty.This is an album best listened to played loud�but with quiet focus. The emotional power driving this heartfelt music demands it.
Rockbites.com
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Curve Magazine
{Issue 13#5} features
"Self-Made Women" by Kimberly Chun.
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Her voice is haunting, a high, sweet whisp of sound, sometimes no more than a whisper. Oaklander Odessa Chen's instrument lingers in the mind long after her origional songs have told their tales of love, regret, longing, and death.
The East Bay Express
by Jason Serinus
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The Bay Area isn't short of angelic-voiced, building-moving, hair-raising singer/songwriters, and Odessa Chen is right up there at the top of the list. Sparse, lonesome melodies are given life by Odessa Chen's breathy, spirited voice.
Bay Area Buzz
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Collected Sounds,
dedicated to women in music features a review of One Room Palace
An interview is at Jade Magazine.com
Odessa was featured on the cover of
Asian Week
and Hapa Issues Newsletter
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Odessa Chen's vocal, when introduced, elevates proceedings to an ethereal level, introspective and somehow incredibly touching. A highly recommended listen for those with a broken heart or insomnia, lovely music.
review of Charles Atlas record with guest vocals by odessa from Boomkat.com
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Local bird Odessa Chen has been compared to a lot of other singers, all of them good. For example, the irresistibly sweet-voiced Jeff Buckley comes up a lot...The two have pretty but complex voices, lyrics good enough to break the flintiest heart.
SF Weekly
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This one has logged many, many hours in my stereo and on my PC -- imagine Godspeed You! Black Emperor with an astonishing female vocalist. It's just a little too... harrowing... for on-the-go listening.
George Zahora, Splendid Magazine
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...along the same lines as Shannon Wright and Chan Marshall, showcasing her breathy vulnerability over graceful, almost classical finger-picked guitar. Chen recently opened up for Mark Eitzel...
BEastFest East Bay Express Critic's Choice
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With impressive aesthetics, style, grace, and candor, Chen delivers.
Seattle Weekly
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Odessa Chen. Turns out she's staggeringly talented and amazing, an absolutely gorgeous voice, beautiful songs, wonderfully played on guitar. I have been unable to enthuse enough about her.
sf indie list
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... sings like you might imagine Jeff buckley and Bjork's asian female lovechild would...we were floored.
the Animators
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...hyperliterate songsmith Odessa Chen, brings deceptive strength to fragile solo arrangements, taking cues from pensive rockers like Low and Cat Power. (She) plays stark, acoustic tunes with all the grace and drama of Kristin Hersh.
flavorpill SF
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Odessa Chen rises above the mundane associations with the icelandic imp {bjork} with pretty, moody tunes...
Bay Guardian


- many publishers