Spare songwriting, lush emotions

I was unfamiliar with Jennifer O'Connor and her music when I got my promotional copy of Over the Mountain, Across the Valley and Back to the Stars, her third album and first for Matador, the independent label stronghold that has been responsible for the careers of artists such as Interpol, Liz Phair and Cat Power.

A few months ago, I barely gave the disc a spin. Now I cannot stop listening to it.

I came around to O'Connor at the end of August, the week her album was set for release. Her publicist invited me to see her perform at Joe's Pub, an intimate lounge in New York where singer-songwriters often strip down their songs. It's a great spot for live music, and I've seen many memorable performances there.

Plus, the evening was her official CD release party, and I sat in a booth gabbing with excited record label folks, the photographer who shot the album's up-close-and-personal cover portrait, and Jennifer's best friend.

Soon, O'Connor and her small band took the stage, and I became transfixed by her sharp, literate songwriting.

O'Connor's life has been fraught with turmoil and familial tragedy, including the deaths of two sisters, one of whom had brain cancer, which she documents all over her assured collection of songs. But where other singers would flip into soggy sentimentalism or dark, tortured dirges, O'Connor opts for clarity and simplicity.

In that space, she communicates her feelings of loss with shattering effect, as on Sister, which relies on an almost terse chorus ("Sister/what can I do?/Sister, I miss you") to express her grief. In concert, as on the album, the song was a standout: simple, poignant and haunting.

I raced home, dug out the disc and put the song on repeat. I'm still impressed by the editorial restraint, the direct, unfussy lyrical approach, in contrast to the enormous feeling transmitted.

Other songs on O'Connor's album are equally spare, wrapped with simple, lovely orchestrations that judiciously balance her austere writing with a complementary minimalism. There's just the right amount of guitar, flutters of keyboard and shuffling drumbeats. The instruments and guest players - including Spoon's Britt Daniel on backing vocals - have a distinct purpose: to serve O'Connor's songwriting, not to ornament the songs in any unnecessary way.

Yet, Over the Mountain, Across the Valley and Back to the Stars is remarkably lyrical and melodic, and songs like Perfect Match and the tongue-in-cheek, clanging Exeter, Rhode Island (also a rocking concert highlight) possess that hummable quality that marks excellent pop music.

O'Connor has taken her show on the road with a pared-down band (just a bassist backing her), and I cannot imagine a more appropriate format to reimagine her bare-bones tunes. It's a rare, exceptional approach that will creep into your bones.

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