I’m a sucker for clever lyrics with a bite. And if they’re cloaked in disarmingly sweet melodies, complimented by guitar, banjo and trumpet and unique without being self-conscious then even better. New Jersey native Jenny Owen Youngs illustrates all of the above on her album Batten the Hatches (plus, is buddies with partner-in-songstress-cool Regina Spektor, who’s also a guest vocalist on Youngs’ record). Whether she’s building an empowered anthem out of the act of being jilted on “Fuck Was I” or adding a woman’s touch to her cover of “Hot in Herre” (off her Take Off All Your Clothes EP), Youngs layers lyrical double-meaning like Kristi Yamaguchi nails double axels—in a less-certifiable than Alanis, less suicide-watch than Fiona, more original than anyone you’ve come across in awhile kind of way. See Youngs at the Independent on June 7. Independentsf.com
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