After studying music in college and logging many miles in her untrustworthy van, Jenny Owen Youngs has been working hard to avoid the dreaded desk job. When I first heard Youngs, she was sporting an ironic Catholic schoolgirl's uniform, playing a show at The Living Room in New York City. At that time, her best song was the very hooky but FCC-challenged "F--- Was I." Her considerable talent and rebelliously artistic spirit were clear from the start.
Youngs recently arrived at WFUV in support of her full-length debut Transmitter Failure, along with her band and their beloved-but-decrepit vehicle of choice, "Van Halen." Transmitter Failure continues the introspective, refreshingly frank tone of her 2005 EP Batten the Hatches. Our session was funny, smart and quirky. A truly unconventional singer-songwriter, she put on an electrifying performance, which evoked everything from '80s pop to a few Ennio Morricone-style Spaghetti Western guitar licks. This woman is definitely going places.
Copyright 2009 WFUV
