Jenny Owen Youngs

Transmitter Failure (Nettwerk)

By Andrea Benvenuto
Published: August 1st, 2009 | 1:23pm

Her initials spell out J-O-Y, and her new album brings it, in a way. The songs mostly dwell on breakups and less-than-perfect liaisons, but are performed by an artist that’s clearly happy with her creative output. As the follow-up to her folksy full-length debut,

Batten the Hatches, Transmitter Failure

presents a new Jenny Owen Youngs: same soulful voice and sharp wit, more electric guitars and lush production.

The album begins with a 40-second acoustic intro before breaking into the radio-friendly pop rock of “Led To the Sea.” Other standouts include the bouncy duet “Secrets” and “No More Words,” a dreamlike evocation of Sea Change-era Beck.

While Youngs’ new sound leans further toward the mainstream, the Jersey girl who had her biggest hit thus far with “Fuck Was I” hasn’t sanitized her lyrics. “Here is a heart,” she tenders in the song of the same name, “battered and braised / Grilled and sautéed / Just how you like it.” With an offering like that, it’s hard not to dig right in.

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