review by Stacy NormanFull disclosure: I’m already in love with Jennifer Doveton‘s solo project, Baby Arms, so when this sampler was announced, I was eagerly throwing my money at Bandcamp and ordering a copy.
For the uninitiated, Doveton has already proven herself to be a talented songwriter and vocalist with her band Colour Me Wednesday. Seriously, along with her sister Harriet (Colour Me Wendesday, The Tuts), the Doveton’s are on their way to becoming some sort of magical indie-pop powerhouse.
Opening track ‘Eviscerator’ immediately had me thinking of Blake Babies, with it’s attention-grabbing bass line underneath guitars that manage to sound both jangley and emotive. I find myself coming back to this track the most on this album.
Another standout moment is ‘Garden City’, a short but memorable track that really shows off Doveton’s vocal talents as her voice floats up towards the higher end of the scale with ease.
As this is a sampler, rather than an official “album”, some tracks appear a second time as part of the Radio Beton sessions Doveton played over the summer. I love this, as it allows you to compare how the songs sound in different settings, and it’s left me even more eager to see these songs performed live for myself.
Things are rounded off with Doveton’s cover of Throwing Muses’ ‘Not Too Soon’, originally appearing on a compilation put out by For the Safe of Tapes, called ‘Hang in There’, which features covers by various UK DIY bands/artists, to raise money for MIND.
This sampler collects Doveton’s recordings so far, and serves as a perfect introduction to her music if you’ve yet to jump on board. Her beautiful vocals and poetically personal lyrics place her somewhere between Juliana Hatfield, Mitski and Waxahatchee – not a bad place to be!
