Premiere: JENNY (Justin Maurer)

Here's a really wonderful surprise to start a new month! Justin Maurer (Clorox Girls, Suspect Parts, Maniac) is a great friend of this blog and one of my favorite people in music. Today he debuts a new solo project called JENNY that he created with the help of a couple of luminaries from the world of underground pop. If you're a fan of Justin's other bands, you will not be disappointed by JENNY. Three of these tracks were recorded by James Carman (whom I just talked about last week!). The other two were recorded by Matt Rendon of The Resonars.

JENNY came about after Maniac broke up. Maurer was working on some songs that were shaping up in a power pop direction. Naturally, his friend Carman was a perfect choice to record the songs and contribute drums and backing vocals. The first three songs on the EP are from the sessions with Carman. The final two tracks were recorded in Tuscon last Christmas with Rendon, who also played bass, drums, and lead 12-string guitar as well as singing backing vocals. Even though this is a true solo project, I appreciate that Mauer allowed his collaborators to put their stamp on these recordings. The songs Maurer recorded with Carman are in the style of late '70s power pop/punk-pop and recapture a great deal of the magic the two made together in LA Drugz. The tracks recorded with Rendon have a distinctive '60s pop flavor. In terms of the sound of the recording, The Everly Brothers were a big inspiration. If you're a big Maurer fan, you may recognize "Song For Sadie" from a recent Suspect Parts release. The JENNY version sounds so different that it's practically a new song! I dug this tune before, but this particular arrangement has me feeling the emotion of the song tenfold. The bare bones percussion is an homage to the Los Lobos song "Christmas and You", which Mauer was enamored with at the time of the recording

JENNY will soon be released as a one-sided 12-inch by the always fabulous Wanda Records. Digital is available now via Bandcamp, so go check it out!



-L.R.

https://jenny2020.bandcamp.com/album/jenny