10 reasons why you should forget everything you’ve heard about female singer-songwriters and slap on the new JENNIFER O'CONNOR LP, Here With Me…                                                                                              
by Gail O'Hara
1. THE NEW ALBUM
The brand spanking new Jennifer O’Connor LP, Here With Me, is here. It was produced, recorded and mixed by John Agnello (Sonic Youth, The Hold Steady, Dinosaur Jr.) in 12 very productive days at Headgear in Brooklyn in March 2008. Basic tracks - including vocals - were recorded live. It will be released on Matador Records on August 19, 2008, and it will bring the Brooklyn musician to the mass audience she so completely and utterly deserves. 

“I try to make each record better than the one before,” says Jennifer. “I was also going for a more cohesive ‘band’ sound and I think we achieved it. Since we made the record so quickly there's a real sense of urgency and immediacy in the recording.” [...]

News
5/12/08 --Coming Aug. 19th- Jennifer O'Connor's 'Here With Me'

The pop landscape has been littered with nu Dylans, old Janis Ians (eg. Janis Ian) and any number of generational spokesmodels, troubled troubadours and assholes with bad pompadours. And those are just the
good parts of my record collection.

Occasionally, somebody not only sticks out from the pack, but manages for the space of 3 minutes or 45, to make you forget there is a pack. To make you forget that said (wacky) packs even exist. At the risk of scaring you with my crude, and poorly taped-up hyperbole stick, I submit that not only is Jennifer O'Connor that kind of artist, but that within a matter of months, you'll be the one hassling your friends about how fantastic her 4th album is rather than me. I'll have already done so. Jennifer recorded her new LP/CD 'Here With Me' (OLE 787-1,2earlier this year with John Agnello (Dinosaur Jr., Sonic Youth) at Brooklyn's Headgear Studios. It's a breezier, more upbeat work than 2006's fantastic 'Over The Mountain, Across The Valley and Back To The Stars', but I'd be lying if I told you the new album packed any less of an emotional wallop. Jennifer's songs have never before sounded this crafted, or hit the listener with such immediacy.
Backed by a crack backing trio of Jon Langmead, Michael Broadlieb and Michael Strandberg (and joined, briefly, by Hold Steady keyboardist Franz Nicolay), O'Connor tackles her most evocative pile of relationship-tunes with something approaching surgical precision. Over the past 6 years, Jennifer's gotten scary good at this sort of thing, so much so that most other contenders for the hypothetical Nobel prize for Witty Pop Songs W/ Heart are either former members of this label's roster (we're thinking Manning/Phair/Daniel but if you wanna nominate someone more contemporary, please go right ahead) or they've already been embalmed in the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame. Jennifer has a bunch of tour dates planned for this summer (see below) with more to come throughout 2008. In the days and weeks ahead, we'll be selectively previewing more of 'Here With Me', along with some exclusive video content. Until then, here's the first MP3 from the forthcoming LP/CD, "Valley Road '86". june 4 Chicago, IL Abbey Pub june 5 Toronto, ON Opera House june 6 Ottowa, ON Babylon june 7 Boston, MA Paradise june 8 New York, NY Bowery Ballroom june 9 New York, NY Bowery Ballroom june 11 Philadelphia, PA World Cafe june 12 Washington, D.C. 9:30 Club (above dates supporting Jamie Lidell) july 13 Kansas City, MO Record Bar july 14 Columbia, MO july 18 Minneapolis, MN Uptown Bar july 19 Fargo, ND Aquarium/Dempseys Upstairs july 20 Sioux Falls, SD Nutty's North (above dates supporting Son Ambulance)

3/29/07--A Jennifer O'Connor Update
Jennifer O'Connor writes :

"I am currently in Chicago on tour with Kevin Devine. I can't stop listening to the new Shins record. I am dodging/driving through snowstorm after snowstorm in my little car. A west coast tour is in the works for early April. Yay! It will be my first one.
And then there is also my 7" subscription club. For $25 you can have 5 split singles that I"m putting out my label Kiam. Each one will feature me and another band collaborating on a track and one or two additional songs by us separately. They will be delivered by mail through the course of the year as they are finished. The bands involved are Choo Choo La Rouge, Dump, Hotel Lights, Jesse Sykes & the Sweet Hereafter and Mascott. If you'd like to subscribe, please send $25 through paypal to jennifer@jenniferoconnor.net"

(KONFESSION KORNER : JOC wrote the above screed back in February when your humble editor was promising Patrick the news would be finished "any minute now." Sorry, Jennifer. But wouldn't you know it, the hardest working woman in any business, show or otherwise, is back on the road:

3/23 Chicago IL Beat Kitchen Maria Taylor (of Azure Ray)
3/30 Bellingham WA Night Lite Jesse Sykes, Sweet Hereafter
3/31 Seattle WA Tractor Tavern Jesse Sykes
4/1 Seattle WA Tractor Tavern Jesse Sykes
4/5 Berkeley CA Freight & Salvage Coffeehouse Richard Shindell
4/7 Los Angeles CA Silent Movie Theater Dean & Britta
4/8 San Francisco CA The Independent Dean & Britta
4/10 Portland OR Aladdin Theater Dean & Britta
4/11 Seattle WA The Triple Door Dean & Britta )

3/07/07 —New Tour Dates, Upcoming 7" Release Party, New Press
Since we last posted, Jennifer has confirmed a whole mess of new dates stretching from here to eternity, or December at least. Of special note is the March 16 Boston gig at PA's Lounge, with Choo Choo La Rouge, The Human Hearts (featuring Franklin Bruno), and Shepardess. This gig is a release party for the first of Jennifer's subscription only 7" series, a split with Choo Choo La Rouge pressed on luscious red vinyl. (For more details on the 7" series, read Jennifer's announcement on Myspace)

Also of note in the O'Connor-verse, last week's New Yorker had a 'critic's notebook' piece on Jennifer O'Connor filled with refrigerator worthy praise like the following:

Some people may have found her near-perfect 2006 album, "Over the Mountain, Across the Valley and Back to the Stars" (Matador), because of its guest stars--James McNew, of Yo La Tengo, and Britt Daniel, of Spoon. O'Connor would be just fine without them.

2/12/07--Matastore February Special: Buy The Record, Get Bonus Jennifer O'Connor EP Download!

Jennifer O'Connor is currently on the road winning hearts and minds (you can find out where HERE), but even with her heroically busy schedule she may not be coming to a town near you. If that's the case, what better way to get to know this criminally overlooked practioner of the singing and songwriting arts than through her Matador debut, "Over The Mountain, Across The Valley and Back To The Stars"? Especially when Matador HQ is throwing in a free download of her recent digital ep, "Another Side of Jennifer O'Connor." This four song ep starts off with a great cover of Bob Dylan's "To Ramona" and moves on to 3 originals, including the unexpectedly rocking (and expectedly awesome) "(Take Me On A Ride Around The) Sun."

Just order "Over The Mountain, Across The Valley and Back To The Stars," and within 24 hours, we'll email you a unique code to access the EP!

11/30/06 —4 star track review on Pitchfork
Pitchfork has seen another side of Jennifer O'Connor, and they like what they've seen. From their track review of "I Never Loved You" (off of the new eMusic exclusive EP):

O'Connor again proves she's as formidable a songwriter as she is a singer, conveying overwhelming uncertainty in that chorus just by singing the title over and over.

Read the whole shebang HERE!

11/14/06 —New eMusic Exclusive EP
A brand new Jennifer O'Connor EP is now available exclusively from eMusic. The EP is called "Another Side of Jennifer O'Connor" and as you might have guessed, it starts off with a cover of Dylan's "To Ramona". You might think this is a headline grabbing ploy by the Matador digital music mischief makers, but think again. The EP is being released to commemorate Jennifer's triumphant performance at the Bob Dylan tribute concert on November 9th at Lincoln Center in New York City.

The EP, available now, also features three brand new songs. Here's the tracklisting:

1. To Ramona
2. I Never Loved You
3. Waste My Time
4. (Take Me On A Ride Around The) Sun.

Check it out at eMusic HERE!

11/17/06 —Paste: Never as readable as when testifying to the brilliance of Jennifer O'Connor

Y'know, Paste might be a bunch of Wes Anderson-loving, Yep Rock-smooching bunch of Christ Humpers, but when they're right, they're right.

10/19/06 —Jennifer O'Connor to play Bob Dylan tribute in NYC
Jennifer will be performing at the Dylan tribute November 9 at Avery Fisher Hall. If Dylan's name alone doesn't impress you, check out some of the other scheduled acts: Patti Smith, Cat Power, Philip Glass, Ramblin' Jack Elliot, The Roots, Allen Toussaint--Heady company indeed!

Jennifer will be playing a duet with Ramblin' Jack Elliott, who some of you might know as the famous friend of Woody Guthrie who isn't Pete Seeger. All the details you could possibly want are at this link.

09/05/06 —New Tour with the Mountain Goats
On the eve of embarking on a hotly anticipated tour with Mason Jennings, Jennifer O'Connor has just booked yet another tour in conjunction with a legendary singer/songwriter. No, we're not talking about her early October dates with Portastatic, this one comes after that.

Straddling the line between October and November, Jennifer O'Connor and Mountain Goats will also straddle the line between breathtakingly prescient and utterly timeless with a dozen-odd date march through the midwest and south. Check out the details here.

08/29/06 —Jennifer on Daytrotter; touring with Mason Jennings
While we’re still reeling from the recent pile of crazy press for Jennifer O’Connor’s ‘Over The Mountain, Across the Valley and Back to the Stars’ (eg. “Sister”, being hailed today by Pitchfork’s Stephen Deusner as “one of the most genuinely affecting pop songs you’ll hear all year”), we’re even happier to share the following : 4 of the album’s gems, recorded in stripped-down form for The Daytrotter Sessions.

Also, Jennifer has just confirmed a ton of new dates supporting Mason Jennings. Check it out here.

08/16/06 —Discography updated
Jennifer's discography page has been updated. Check it out here.

07/26/06 —Jennifer hits the road as release date approaches
Jennifer's first Matador album, 'Over the Mountain, Across the Valley, and Back to the Stars,' comes out on the very popular CD and LP formats later next month, and in addition to US dates this summer supporting the Silver Jews and Jeff Tweedy, record release shows are planned for NYC (Joe's Pub, August 24) and Boston (Great Scott, September 23) respectively. There's a ton of US shows on the tour dates page, with falls shows opening for Portastatic hitting the schedule shortly, along with Autumn dates sponsored by our friends at Venus Magazine.

Of 'Over The Mountain...,' Out's Mikel Wadewitz writes, "Whether it's the pop melodies of "Perfect Match" or the folk-rock elgy "Sister," O'Connor beautifully mines the tough terrain created by the twin demons of love and death." Ka-Pow!

"Today," the 2nd MP3 from 'Over The Mountain..." is now available for your listening pleasure.

07/26/06 — Second MP3 posted
Today is the second MP3 from Jennifer's upcoming Matador album, "Over The Mountain, Across The Valley And Back To The Stars," in stores August 22.

Rock and roll and all its many offshoots have, a good argument can be made, fallen into what nerds would call "A Baroque Period." We have concept albums about the Weimar Republic, multipart works peopled by casts larger than football teams. In spite of centuries of development in economic theory, nine-plus piece touring bands are a common sight (what are they bringing in every night, like five bucks apiece?). With all the pomp and extra percussionists, it's easy to forget what it is that makes music connect with listeners in the first place: honesty, empathy and guts. A few chords on an acoustic guitar, a lone voice, a song about missing someone, and Jennifer O'Connor shows she posseses these qualities by the ton.

06/27/06 — Photos posted
The new official press shots are available in the gallery.

06/01/06 — More of Jennifer's story
It's come to our attention that in our rush to stare at our own reflections bouncing back from a stack of 'Antics' gold records, we neglected to give you a substantial bit of background regarding one of our more recent signings, Jennifer O'Conner. As her new CD/LP , 'Over The Mountain, Across The Valley and Back To The Stars' is dropping on August 22, the following is an attempt to do said album justice:

In Matador's storied history, we've had the pleasure of working with some ridiculously talented people. The latest name we're happy to add to the pantheon is the direct, evocative NYC-based vocalist/guitarist Jennifer O'Connor.

Jennifer's career began in Atlanta, where after college she joined Violet, a band compared to X and the Pixies. She started playing solo after quitting Violet and moving to NYC. Her influences are other artists with a fresh take on self-awareness, from Destroyer, Silver Jews, Aimee Mann, and Smog, to Dylan and Petty, as well as Jay Z, Kanye West, and Dizzee Rascal.

Jennifer released her debut EP, Truth Love Work, in 2000. 'Time Out' wrote, "O'Connor is another Liz Phair or Elliott Smith waiting to happen. Her understated guitar-based songs lack the primping, preening and obviousness of Phair and the sad-sack whining of Smith. Rather, her matter-of-fact lyrics tell stories that us regular joes can relate to." Her self-released, self-titled debut followed in 2002, and Red Panda released the acclaimed 'The Color And The Light' in May 2005.

'Over The Mountain' is her 3rd full-length, but it has the immediacy of a debut. The past year saw many personal upheavals which informed it more than she expected. "It's been so tumultuous, I think that inevitably crept into my songs," she says. "I wouldn't say that I always write from experience, but I did a lot of it on this record." For her most emotional songs yet, she self-produced and got rid of reverb and extraneous sounds, giving them an urgency that her other records didn't always have. She explains, "There's a lot of space; we purposefully pared everything down to what was necessary for the song."

While Jennifer writes (and often performs) alone on guitar, each song here (save the acoustic single-take "Today") is fleshed out with a band that includes her longtime drummer Jon Langmead, James McNew (Yo La Tengo) on bass, Kendall Meade (Sparklehorse) on keyboards & vocals, and other friends including Britt Daniel (Spoon) on vocals, and Al Weatherhead, who produced 'Color...' & plays guitar on many tracks.

upcoming live action:

sun june 4 todd p presents: springtime unamplified acousic bbq at the southern tip of roosevelt island
enter at corner of Main St & Road 3

Jun 6 2006
Boston, MA
Abbey Lounge w/ Choo Choo La Rouge, The Silver Lining, Tony Goddess & Thedowhatshewants (Papas Fritas)

Jun 21 2006
New York, NY
Sin-e w/ The Mendoza Line

Jul 15 2006
Greensboro, NC
Flying Anvil w/ Hotel Lights & Pleasant

Jul 17 2006
Tallahassee, FL
Beta Bar w/ Hotel Lights

Jul 18 2006
Atlanta, GA
The Earl w/ Hotel Lights and Liz Durrett

Jul 19 2006
Athens, GA
Caledonia Lounge w/ Hotel Lights & Liz Durrett

Jul 20 2006
Asheville, NC
Grey Eagle w/ Hotel Lights

Jul 21 2006
Richmond, VA
Gallery 5 w/ Hotel Lights & Prabir & The Substitutes

Jul 22 2006
Chapel Hill, NC
Local 506 w/ Hotel Lights

Jul 28 2006
St. Louis, MO
The Duck Room w/ Silver Jews

Aug 24 2006
Joe's Pub, 9:30 PM
RECORD RELEASE PARTY
with band

A solo performance of Jennifer's will air on Jon Solomon's WPRB program on June 28.
05/22/06 — Biography posted
The new biography has been posted.

04/17/06 — First MP3 posted
Exeter, Rhode Island is the first MP3 from Jennifer's upcoming Matador album.

04/14/06 — Rothko residency; other shows coming
Jennifer O'Connor will be performing every Tuesday in May at Rothko in New York City; other upcoming dates are listed on the tours page. Keep checking back here for the new bio, photos and an MP3 from the new album very shortly.

03/10/06 — Album confirmation; other SXSW appearances
Jennifer's Matador debut,'"Over the Mountain, Across The Valley, and Back to the Stars' is coming later this year and we'll have more things to say, both effusive and informational in nature, about said artistic achievment, in the next update. Until then, you can catch Jennifer at the following events during SXSW .

March 15 - Stubbs, BBQ (8pm, Matador quintuple supershow)
March 16 - Mrs. Bea's Patio, 1104 East 6th St. @ Medina St. , 4pm,
(with Love Of Diagrams, The Notekillers, Erase Errata and Mike Wexler)
March 16 - End Of An Ear Records, 2209 South First St., 6pm
March 18 - 18th Floor At Capitol Place, 500 N. IH 35, 9pm (with Mascott and The Naysayer)

01/24/06 — SXSW lineup announced
¡Matador Sur de Suroeste 2006!
Miercole

01/24/06 — SXSW lineup announced
¡Matador Sur de Suroeste 2006!
Miercoles, 15 de marzo
Stubbs BBQ
Austin, Tejas

BELLE Y SEBASTIÁN
MOGWAI
CAT POWER
LOS NEW PORNOGRAPHERS
BRIGHTBLACK MORNING LIGHT
y huéspedes especial: JENNIFER O'CONNOR

Dear friends in the rock and roll business (and humans, too). The following members of Matador's cavalcade of stars will be appearing at Austin, Texas' Stubbs BBQ on Wednesday evening , March 15 as part of the eagerly awaited South By Southwest trade fair.

Due to the limited capacity of the venue and the large number of SXSW badges and wristbands in circulation, we will not be able to offer ticket availability to the general public. However, public wristband sales in the Austin area will be announced soon.

In the days ahead, we hope to have further details about additional Austin appearances by Brightblack Morning Light and Jennifer O'Connor that week, as well as where and when The Double will be performing during SXSW.

10/11/05 — Jennifer reports
Jennifer reports "I am preparing to begin recording in the next few weeks. I will be self-producing at The Fort in Brooklyn.I'll be playing a few solo shows in October and a few band shows here and there throughout the winter but I will mostly be focusing on making the record."

upcoming gigs -

10/12 - Knitting Factory, NYC, NY (with Doria Roberts)
10/13 - Pace, Easthampton, MA (with Doria Roberts)
10/15 - Tupelo Music Hall, Londonderry, NH (with Doria Roberts)
10/21 - Pianos, NYC, NY (with Undisputed Heavyweights)
10/23 - Maxwell's, Hoboken, NJ (with Orenda Fink and Neva Dinova)
11/17 - Cakeshop, NYC, NY (with the Dreadful Yawns)
11/18 - Pa's Lounge (with Choo Choo La Rouge and the Dreadful Yawns)


09/06/05 — Jennifer O'Connor signs to Matador Records
In Matador's long and storied history, we've had the pleasure of being associated with some ridiculously talented singer-songwriters. The latest name we're happy to add to that pantheon is the NYC-based vocalist/guitarist Jennifer O'Connor, whose 3rd CD, the recent 'The Color & The Light' (Red Panda) has been one of most direct, evocative and powerful works we've encountered in ages.

photo by Tae Won Yu

O'Connor, formerly of the Atlanta band Violet, has been knocking around the USA throughout '05, supporting the likes of Lou Barlow, the Go-Betweens, Feist and Vic Chesnut, bringing her confessional songs of loss, desire, love and despair to the stage, either as a soloist or fronting a trio.

Jennifer's Matador debut is tentatively on tap for the fall of next year, but in the meantime, you can check out her website at jenniferoconnor.net, a recent interview from Chickfactor, or a couple of MP3's from 'The Color & The Light':

The Color and the Light (MP3)

Sister (MP3)

Upcoming Jennifer O'Connor dates include

09/03 - Masquerade, Tampa, FL
09/05 - The Tank, NYC, NY
09/10 - Pa's Lounge, Somerville, MA
09/14 - Knitting Factory, NYC
9/16 - AS 220, Providence, RI (with Hockey Night)
10/02 - Tonic, NYC, NY (with Kahoots)
10/21 - Pianos, NYC, NY
11/17 - Cakeshop, NYC NY