Jennifer O'Connor - Over the Mountain, Across the Valley and Back to the Stars

Jennifer O’Connor
Over the Mountain, Across the Valley and Back to the Stars
Matador Records
Grade: A-

After struggling over the past few years as a singer-songwriter in NYC, Jennifer O’Connor finally gets her due on her debut for Matador. Starting out in Atlanta with the indie band Violet, O’Connor left the band and the city for the cold streets of NYC and the ups and downs that they present. Over the Mountain is actually O’Connor’s third full-length, following her 2000 Truth Love Work EP, her 2002 self-released self-titled full-length, and 2005’s The Color and The Light on Red Panda Records. While it is not a surprise that O’Connor got signed to Matador, it makes you smile given that so many in her previous position never reach such heights. Yah, yah, yah, right? But even more excellently, the twelve songs on Over the Mountain are light years better than anything she has done before. Chalk it up to learning the craft and hard work? Add some hard life moments. You might also add the superb exploits of her backing band on Over the Mountain – Jon Langmead on drums, James McNew (Yo La Tengo) on bass, Kendall Meade (Sparklehorse) on keys and vocals, and further help on vocals on from Britt Daniel (Spoon) and guitar help from producer Al Weatherhead. As you progress from opener “Century Estates” through the closer “I’ll Bring You Home,” O’Connor maps out her soft singer-songwriter side (“Today,” “Tonight We Ride,” and “I Was So Wrong”), the strong indie acoustic material (“Century Estates” and “Bullshit Maze”), along with straight-up indie-Americana specials like “Sister,” uber-rocker “Turn It Down,” and the amazing closer “I’ll Bring You Home” written for her sister who died of brain cancer. O’Connor has risen to the occasion on her biggest opportunity in her musical career, and we are all thankful.