Jennifer O’Connor keeps up her alt-country melody on her latest, Here With Me. The Brooklyn singer/songwriter plays it mostly soft on her newest album, her second on Matador Records, venturing across the sadder side of life. However, she explores it well, and infuses a bit of energy when necessary.
“The Church and the River” opens Here With Me on a melodic, sad strum, and while representative of much of the album, is a bit too limited to really serve as the right starting showcase for the record. O’Connor is stronger with the following “Always In Your Mind”, as she adds some carrying alt-country twang to the more wistful number. This is taken up even another notch with the catchy, single-worthy rollick of “Daylight Out”, while “Valley Road 86” provides the night to that “Day” in its very sad look back on childhood friends – the stripped piece (reminiscent of the best sad work of Aimee Mann) is absolutely heart-wrenching.
Here With Me does, unfortunately, reach its apex a little too soon on the track list. There still is some strong yin-yang on middle numbers “Credit in the Cost” and “Highway Miles”, “Credit” playing more straight-up alt-country (though with some reverbed meaning) and “Highway” adding some blues-ier catch. But then the record really drips and drags with the slow, old-timey “Days Become Months” and too-long storyteller “End of the Hall”. But then “Xmas Party” picks it up with some wry country-twang, and “Next to Mine” finishes it out on some more of O’Connor’s sad, soft, intimate harmony.
Jennifer O’Connor isn’t the first or only alt-country singer/guitarist woman out there, and Here With Me doesn’t revolutionize the genre. But it’s a strong, accomplished entry in the pack, and in O’Connor’s growing discography.
