Good things come to those who wait. And what’s the hurry anyway? Explaining her slow songwriting process to The Ticket recently, Jennifer Evans put it succinctly: “If it takes that long, it takes that long.” Fair enough.
Having honed her skills through a steady schedule of gigging and practice as well as an array of theatre and performance art projects, Evans is very much in control of her chosen art form, and it shows.
A stunning blend of jazz, blues and rock, her debut album boasts a singularity of vision that places Evans in the same category as St Vincent and Anna Calvi, her serene demeanour belying a restless spirit and questioning mind.
Opener Uncomfortable Word sets the tone, condensing several wide-ranging ideas into one mutated shape.
These are songs that duck and jab, never failing to hit their target and leave a mark, underpinned with a deliciously dark atmosphere (kudos to co-producer Stephen Shannon).
Lyrically, Evans keeps her cards close to her chest; her deliberate, intimately delivered words frequently laced with a cryptic edge. She embraces the painful side of love on Colour of Bruises with a breezy nonchalance while the languid multi-tracked vocals on My Own Assassin prove deceptively soothing.
The joys hinted at on After Berlin and Your Cause unravel to reveal layers of disquiet. The latter – written by fellow Dublin musician Rhob Cunningham – finds Evans’s electric guitar sparking and flickering out of control before subsiding to a gently strummed close.
Similarly, Empire glides from tranquillity to ferocity and back again with the minimum of fuss.
Captivating and never predictable, this is as strong and memorable a debut you’ll hear from an Irish artist this year.
