all songs by Jennifer Curtis. recorded with Curtis Page "Sonny" Ratcliff and Bobby McCullough at the excellent Seaside Lounge in Park Slope, Brooklyn on March 15 & 16 2008 - engineered by Mitch Rackin. additional (and magical) recording session with Sonny and Vani Kannan at Starlite Sound one Sunday in April. mixed by Sonny and Andy Baldwin at The Devil's Playground the last week of April. mastered by Paul Gold at Salt Mastering on Friday, May 2nd.
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From The Bluesbunny www.bluesbunny.com
Voices sometimes get to you. Something in the way they curve round the words. Maybe they remind you of something familiar. A feeling or a memory perhaps. On this 5 track EP by This Reporter, Jennifer Curtis's voice had that effect. She sounds familiar but not in the way that she sounds like something else. More like she echoes feelings that we have all felt.
There is a sense of melancholy to the proceedings that is reinforced by the production sound. Reverb swathes the songs in a swirling unreality. Emotions are there in quantity as well with the torment of repressed feelings surfacing in "Letter". The delicate piano introduction to "Set Me" seems to signify hope and indeed there is strength even majesty in the words.
Jennifer Curtis's songs might well be described as the kind of thing that would result should Fiona Apple and Janis Ian get together. Intense and emotional, they work away at you until you have to press the repeat button for another fix. Songs that are a hell of a lot bigger than they seem on first acquaintance, in other words.
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CD Review: This Reporter – Five Smooth Stones
September 23, 2008 · BY lucidculture.wordpress.com
Utterly captivating debut from this New York dreampop outfit. In their shimmery yet spiky layers of electric and acoustic guitars, multiple keyboards, acoustic bass and some terrifically interesting, jazz-inflected drumming, you can hear distant echoes of the first Lush cd as well as My Bloody Valentine from back when they were a pop band. But This Reporter aren’t derivative like so many others reviving that late 80s-early 90s sound. Their music is complex but also remarkably accessible, atmospheric yet earthy, sparse acoustic instrumentation cutting through dense arrangements. Frontwoman Jennifer Curtis’ voice is instantly distinctive, breathy with a playfully cajoling edge. But it doesn’t seem that she’s trying to be seductive: that’s just how she sings. Her lyrics are fragmented yet often strikingly terse and imagistic. “Baby, you’re fake,” she announces offhandedly as the cd’s first track begins. “You can’t stop me.” On the second cut, Letter, the vocals float off in the mix, disembodied, lending a somewhat disturbing edge as the band plots their way through a tricky time signature. Temperatures rise on the third track, the anthemic Fragment 31: is that a recorder solo, or just a cleverly programmed synthesizer patch?
Curtis’ raison d’etre becomes apparent, sailing into the upper registers on the following cut, Set Me: “Passion burns more fierce than the fires of hell, and many waters cannot quench,” she wails, effectively adding an optimistic edge to the song’s dark swirl. The cd closes with the lush anthem Seven States: “I don’t miss you because you’re dead,” Curtis intones brightly and matter-of-factly, leaving it up to the listener to figure out if she’s merely being metaphorical. Or not. At the end, the layers of melody fall away gracefully, leaving the outro to just Curtis’ stately acoustic guitar strumming over the drums. This album is best appreciated on an ipod – or over a powerful sound system that can bring all its many complexities to life. Live, without the thicket of sonics, the songs get stripped down to just guitar, keys and acoustic rhythm section, giving the basic tracks a chance to show their muscles.
yes, unfortunately i live here for the time being.. im going to the Musician's Institute for their vocal program to get my AA so im stuck here until i either A) graduate, or B) go psycho i absolutely love your music by the way, what are you inspirations for songs/lyrics? im a singer and writer myself.
DIFF Digital Screening on Sunday, September 7, 2008 at Studio 353 in Manhattan(353 W 48th St, 2nd Floor). The shorts program begins at 6:30pm and the feature, Box Elder, begins at 9pm. Tickets are $8 at the door. Hope to see you there!
Remember the DRIVE-IN Film Festival Fundraising Carnival is tomorrow at Riverside Park - North Lawn (Riverside and 79th, NYC) from 1-8pm. Hope to see you there!
can't wait to see you too! went to the doctor today and got the first ultrasound! there really is a baby in there!!! HA! we will have pics waiting for ya :)
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