This week's feature: Jenn Grant

Jenn Grant, Orchestra For The Moon (Paris 1919)

WHO

Folky PEI-by-way-of-Halifax indie-rock chanteuse.

DISCOGRAPHY

Jenn Grant and Goodbye Twentieth Century (Self-released, 2005)
Orchestra For The Moon (Paris 1919, 2007)

IN A NUTSHELL

Orchestra For The Moon shows that the only thing separating Jenn Grant from being Eastern Canada's answer to Feist is a massive advertising push.

THE STORY

Complaining about one artist's popularity relative to another's is pointless. I know that; there are all kinds of random factors other than the music that go into it, and at the end of the day, it basically all boils down to luck, and being at the right place at the right time. But having said all that, it's ridiculous that a Hype Machine search for Jenn Grant yields only two results, while the same search for Feist brings up seven pages.

Don't get me wrong. I like Feist, and I plan on raving about (and featuring, and contest-ing) The Reminder just as soon as I can sneak it out of my girlfriend's stereo. But objectively, there's no way she's better than Jenn Grant. In fact, based on Orchestra For The Moon, you could certainly make the argument that she's better at the jazzy-folky indie rock thing than Feist is.

It doesn't start out sounding that way. Opening track "Morning Break" is a fairly straightforward country song, with twangy vocals and even twangier guitars, and the only thing that really stands out is Grant's dazzling voice. The handclaps towards the end of the track hint that there might be something more here, but there's little else to make you believe that Grant is really going to be anything out of the ordinary.

And then the opening chords of "Dreamer" hit, and right away it becomes clear that this initial assessment is completely off. Even though the song barely raises above a whisper (which makes this comparison to Arcade Fire seem absurd), it still sounds like a momentous event as it gradually -- but quietly -- builds to a climax.

The next eleven tracks show that this second song is no fluke, with Grant showing over and over again that she's able to blend together all kinds of different genres to make a sound that, if not quite all her own, is still something she does better than pretty much anyone else. She does it with impressive poise, as evidenced by the way she's able to sing a duet with Ron Sexsmith, on "In A Brown House", and sound like the seasoned veteran. Of equal importance is the way she's able to sound both light and upbeat (on "Don't Worry Baby", which comes off as a breezier version of "Mushaboom") and sad and melancholic (as on "Make It Home Tonight" or "Rainy Day").

On top of all that, it should be noted that the arrangements around her vocals are pretty impressive, too. It takes a prodigious talent to work instruments like bass clarinet and harp into songs without sounding too ostentatious, but Grant is able to use both in ways that don't sound like she's showing off.

Of course, it's probably far too early to assume that Orchestra For The Moon won't help Grant achieve Feist-like levels of fame. The album was only released a month ago, after all. More than that, though, it's simply a great album from beginning to end, and it marks the arrival of an exceptional new talent.