Jen Dixon: Pretty Face

Jen Dixon is another artist I connected with quite early in my Music Observer venture, and someone I was really happy to hear performing live at Twisterella recently. 

I enjoy Jen's fresh-sounding songs, and her boldness and energy. She writes confidently and competently, and always with honesty. While mainly guitar focused, she's not afraid to bring other elements into her music and to experiment a bit. Her rap in 'Which Way Is Down?' is almost legendary on the indie music scene.

With her new release, 'Pretty Face', Jen stays true to form - and, paradoxically, this of course means being a little different. 

This one is catchy and imbued with the usual crisp, precise delivery; but it's slightly darker and more mysterious than Jen's previous songs. It starts with a filtered beat emerging gradually, along with a hint of the main riff. The vocals kick in early, and are mixed close to the front, making you feel Jen is right there, telling you her story in her characteristically forthright manner. 

That piano riff is very catchy, sounding almost bell-like. It comes back several times, and like the whole song it's soothing and yet slightly eerie. This is a great musical setting for the lyrics of this song, with its undercurrent of musing and questioning. The story is quite introspective, but also very revealing - Jen bravely lays her soul bare here.

It's a great single, and feels like a natural next step of progression for this emerging singer-songwriter. With each release so far, Jen has revealed another facet to her musical character. This exploration is great to witness, and keeps her work interesting and engaging. 

I'm hoping Jen will be able to gig a bit more widely soon, so that more of us can enjoy, first-hand, what she has to offer.

Jen has recently produced a gorgeous (climate neutral) T-shirt, with a design combining her love of surfing, the sea, and chickens. It's available on her Bandcamp page.