Having followed many musical threads from jazz to alt-country to electronica, Chicago-based Jenny Gillespie finds herself merging all of the tones, sounds, and textures she loves on her new album Kindred.
After her 2009 debut album Light Year drew praise for its blend of ethereal folk and art-pop grandeur, Jenny embarked on a new sonic adventure, recording her new album Kindred produced by Austin, TX multi-instrumentalist Darwin Smith. Smith had mixed Light Year and expressed interest to Jenny in recording an album in a house setting near her home base of Chicago. Using two years of home demos as a starting point, Smith and Gillespie worked together to arrange the songs and create the unique sound of Kindred. Recorded both in the living room of a rambling house in Wilmette, IL and various locations in Austin, TX, Kindred is a convergence of refined musicianship and experimental spontaneity.
Kindred veers into sometimes delicate, sometimes epic soundscapes with electronica, jazz and folk leanings, calling to mind diverse influences such as Joni Mitchell, Talk Talk, Cocteau Twins, and Bjork. Gillespie crafts lyrics that wend through metaphysical and natural imagery and themes of spirituality and sex. Kindred is a challenging yet soothing album for modern ears. Gary Newcomb (Richard Buckner, Gary Newcomb Trio) lends pedal steel, Dony Wynn (Robert Palmer, Steve Winwood) on drums, Steve Bernal (Bill Callahan, Calla) on cello and bass, and Steve Moore (Laura Veirs, Sufjan Stevens, Tift Merritt) contributes keys and brass. Kullen Fuchs and Roy Coon also add trumpet, flute, sax, and clarinet.
