REVIEW: Jill Sobule, Jill Sobule (Atlantic)

- Reto Koradi

Some girls have all the luck. While some female singer/songwriters, like Tori Amos, have received their well-deserved attention, some equally talented ones have fallen short of commercial success. Jill Sobule is just one example; her wonderful debut album Things Here Are Different, produced by Todd Rundgren, was frequently found in cut-out bins. Now, 5 years later, Atlantic gives her a second chance, and we can only hope that it will sell well enough to not be the last one.

While THAD was a very intimate and mostly sad album, this one is more diverse. Jill says, "There's still angst and manic depression in the songs, but at least they have a sense of humor, and hope. I had a lot of life experiences and disappointments between records; at this point, I'm kind of hopefully jaded." Not that she completely forgot about her old qualities. Some songs, like "Houdini's Box" or "Now That I Don't Have You", are still very emotional, with sparse instrumentation.

Another group of tracks, like "Margaret" or "The Couple On The Street", are also quite mellow, but the piano and Jill's vocals give them a jazz kind of feel, reminiscent of Nina Simone. "Train" and "The Jig Is Up", two of the highlight tracks, have a really groovy chorus, with a strong bass line in "Train".

There are also a few simple, but beautiful tracks with a strong folk influence, most clearly in "Resistance Song" and "Vrbana Bridge", somewhat less pronounced in the great "I Kissed A Girl".

Last but not least there are two tracks, the opening "Good Person Inside" and "Karen By Night" that would come less surprisingly from some of the hype alternative female rock bands like Veruca Salt. They're not noisy, but they have drive, and even some (slightly) distorted guitars.

The lyrics mostly tell stories, about life, people, relations. No unusual topics, but Jill has a knack of describing feelings and creating pictures by words, with a good sense of humor. "Maybe I should jump, jump off the Brooklyn Bridge, but I don't live in Brooklyn, and I don't know how to swim".

Despite the rather different styles featured on the album, it doesn't fall apart at all. The songs are held together by Jill's genuine talent as a songwriter and guitar player, but most of all by her beautiful, clear voice. People that like female singer/songwriters, or even just good music in general, should give Jill Sobule a chance.