Add something new to Virb:

Virb

Are you sure you want to delete that?

or Cancel

 

Jenny Owen Youngs

Folk / Indie / Rock

NJ

You do not have the current Adobe Flash Player

To listen to this audio clip you will need to upgrade Adobe Flash Player

You do not have Adobe Flash Player

To listen to this audio clip you will need to install Adobe Flash Player

About

BIO:

bat•ten
Main Entry: batten
Function: verb
Inflected Form(s): bat•tened; bat•ten•ing /'bat-ni[ng], 'ba-t&n-i[ng]/
Intransitive verb: to make one secure by or as if by battens
- batten the hatches : to prepare for a difficult or dangerous situation


“I can’t stay off of people’s laps.”

It would appear that Jenny Owen Youngs is a full-contact sport.

“When I’m meeting someone for the first time and my gut instinct tells me that we’re going to be important to each other for years to come, I like to take ‘making a connection’ to a slightly more literal plane, and connect myself… to a lap. It’s unconventional and maybe a little invasive, but people tend to remember you upon a second meeting once you’ve shared that kind of intimacy.”

This mentality, which holds little regard for personal boundaries and getting-to-know-you etiquette, is the mortar of her debut full-length. Batten the Hatches is a collection of eleven un-love songs that want nothing more than to crawl inside your head and set up camp. Under the clever guise of sweet, unadorned arrangements and dangerously addictive melodies, they waltz in and do just that.

Each track takes aim: at the disembodied voice of an ex-lover (“Voice On Tape”); at whiskey bottles emptied to salve wounds (“Drinking Song”); at one particularly curse-worthy heartbreaker (“Fuck Was I”); at the modern crumbling structure of family and home (“Bricks”). With thoughtful lyrics and a flick of the wrist, Jenny turns poetry and pain into unassuming pop anthems.

On Hatches, there’s also no shortage of cussing or drinking – and no apologies made for either. Why so unladylike? “Love is a mess,” Jenny shrugs, “and I’ve made plenty of messes. It levels everyone to the same sloppy playing ground. Certain emotional states cannot be effectively recreated for a listener without the employment of a good, solid ‘fuck!’ – or twenty. If I can’t come across as genuine, no one’s going to bother coming back for a second listen.”

Jenny Owen Youngs is a lot of things, but disingenuous is not one of them. Not-so-simply put, she’s a feisty, hypersensitive, disease-free singer-songwriter and reformed Girl Scout who politely requests that you make room on your lap for her songs. Raised in the eastern deciduous forests of northwest New Jersey, our heroine spent her youth engaged in such rural activities as rock-skipping, bear-chasing, and waterfall-diving. She also logged countless hours spinning her mother’s copy of Revolver and learning every last word to Jesus Christ Superstar. Jenny seriously dated both the flute and the tuba before exchanging enthusiastic vows with the guitar at the tender age of thirteen. She adores sharks – a residual fascination left over from teenage ambitions toward a career in marine biology. Jenny is also a Space Camp survivor. Ask her about it sometime.

Photos(12)

Text(37)

Nov 3, 2008

Don’t Panic, I’m Going to Live.

Everything is OK and I am feeling a lot better. The doc gave me permission to stick it to the west coast and the midwest with Greg starting tomorrow, so I write you from a hotel in LA where I am biti...

Post a comment

Nov 2, 2008

BRIDGEPORT CT SHOW CANCELED Sat Nov 1st

Greetings friends,Due to an out-of-nowhere medical emergency I regret to inform you Connecticuters that I've had to cancel the Two Boots show. I'm horribly sorry and hope I can make it up to you in t...

Post a comment

Oct 22, 2008

Yes, that was me you heard on Privileged.

...just in case you were wondering.

Post a comment

Comments(19)

You must be logged in to post comments. Not a member? Join now!

We Call It a Sound, Apr 05:

Please help us!
We need your help in contest for polish festival! For you it's only a little while, for us it's a very big deal! To vote on We Call It a Sound you should only enter this site:
http://muzyka.onet.pl/0,1941299,newsy.html
and at the bottom in the sound you should choose We Call It a Sound
and press "Głosuj" button! Please, help us, we will appreciate this!
Thanks for every Vote, you can vote until 15 April.
Greetings from Poland!

Ziplok, Feb 08:

click to comment

MXP4, Jul 27, 2008:

Hi Jenny Owen Youngs,
We checked your profile and your music sounds awesome !
You've been selected to download for free the beta-version of the MXP4Creator.
Be one of the first artists to compose in MXP4, the new interactive format for music.

Click here to start the download : www.mxp4.com/?_idP=13
More info on our website : www.mxp4.com/?_idP=13

jacqueline kroft , Feb 22, 2008:

great to hear you here!
Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket

your friend
Jacqueline

Balm, Jan 01, 2008:

hmmm

Callahan, Nov 14, 2007:

Hello Jenny!
Thanks for the add!
Nice songs.

Take care

Callahan

leo, Oct 27, 2007:

excellent music, greetings from chile!!

Detroit Scoey, Oct 25, 2007:

G'day Jen. Thanks for the add eh? Hope you're having a good day

Serial Thrillers, Sep 10, 2007:

Thanks so much for adding us!!

Mzelle, Aug 16, 2007:

You have a great voice and you're so pretty !

Stats

  • Plays today
    7
  • All-time plays
    4,307
  • Profile views
    5,028

www.jennyowenyoungs.com

Followers(192)

Wake Today's PictureMisty Socks's Picturemarc2b's PictureSeraphim's PictureWe Call It a Sound's Picture

Flag this profile!

Flag this profile as:

or Cancel