Jennie Arnau

Singer-songwriter Jennie Arnau combines Americana, country, and rock and roll, as heard on her previous album Mt. Pleasant and her recently released Chasing Giants. Arnau makes no apologies for her uniquely brazen brand of New York-nurtured grassroots rock. It’s a sly underground sound that’s born of urban grit and rowdy southern sensibilities and it perfectly suits this native South Carolina singer with the bluesy, bold, and bittersweet voice.It’s not a voice that has gone unnoticed either - Chuck Eddy of the Village Voice wrote that Arnau is capable of “a husky uplift and rhythmic wallop rarely heard in the female-folkie field” while Singer magazine praised Arnau’s ability to “pierce your heart one moment, then turn right around and calm your spirit the next.

Singer-songwriter Jennie Arnau combines Americana, country, and rock and roll, as heard on her previous album Mt. Pleasant and her recently released Chasing Giants. Arnau makes no apologies for her uniquely brazen brand of New York-nurtured grassroots rock. It’s a sly underground sound that’s born of urban grit and rowdy southern sensibilities and it perfectly suits this native South Carolina singer with the bluesy, bold, and bittersweet voice.

It’s not a voice that has gone unnoticed either - Chuck Eddy of the Village Voice wrote that Arnau is capable of “a husky uplift and rhythmic wallop rarely heard in the female-folkie field” while Singer magazine praised Arnau’s ability to “pierce your heart one moment, then turn right around and calm your spirit the next.”

Marry Arnau’s powerful chops with the production savvy of Grammy-winner Trina Shoemaker (Sheryl Crow, Queens of the Stone Age, Emmylou Harris) and you’ve got what might be one of the most compelling indie record releases of 2007, Mt. Pleasant. From the freewheeling, darkly hopeful journey of “Float On” to the scrappy ferocity of “Holidays,” Arnau smartly embraces both the supple artistry of alt-country and the rougher-hewn edge of rock ‘n’ roll. She’s not afraid of the ache in her vocals and her lyrics; in fact, Arnau says that it’s that very conflict of her multi-dimensional life, her loves and her losses that has fueled the “openness” and honesty of the album. One of the most extraordinary tracks on Mt. Pleasant, “You’re Not Alone,” was inspired by Arnau’s close friend who was battling a losing fight with cancer. The track is hardly a melancholic ballad; instead, it rocks with anthemic, upbeat Dixie Chicks-meets-Rhett Miller determination.

But what makes Mt. Pleasant different for Arnau is the addition of Shoemaker who believed strongly in the singer’s promise. Arnau was determined to find a producer who would understand her alchemy of grassroots Americana and bluesy rock and sent Shoemaker a demo. The busy producer got back to her quickly and the two collaborators, along with Arnau’s band - drummer Alan Lerner (Zen Tricksters), guitarist Adam Lerner, bassist Danny Reisbick, keyboardist Pete Levin (Southside Johnny) and guest cellist Martha Colby (Tracy Bonham, Vanessa Carleton) - recorded at New York’s Battery Studios.

The dirty, brusque wail of “Who Will Come With Me” - which Arnau says was inspired by a Robert F. Kennedy documentary - also leads the question, of who and what has influenced Arnau as a singer? Given her professed fondness for “interesting voices,” Arnau’s choices are eclectic, ricocheting from Jeff Buckley to Ani di Franco (“when she’s not growling”) to Aimee Mann and Johnny Cash.

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8/18/09: Jennie Arnau

The singer-songwriter combines Americana, country, and rock and roll, as heard on her previous album Mt. Pleasant and her recently released Chasing Giants.

Jennie Arnau

The singer-songwriter combines Americana, country, and rock and roll, as heard on her previous album Mt. Pleasant and her recently released Chasing Giants.

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Jennie Arnau

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