Jen Kearney & The Lost Onion released The Year Of The Ox within the last year to great fanfare. Every music mag ran a positive review and Kearney and her Onion headlined numerous music festivals.
The Year Of The Ox is a concept album of sorts. It was inspired by Kearney’s visit to a Chinese restaurant. She saw on a placemat that she was born in the year of the ox. From there, the lyrics fell into place for her. Kearny, in person, has the demeanor of an ordinary person, someone that could be a bar tender or a cab driver. On disc and live, though, she serves up the funk in several gems and on a few masterpieces.
Kearney and her band are among the best funk musicians in New England, and The Year Of The Ox abounds with fantastic keyboard, guitar, and a tremendous rhythm section. Kearney’s voice has that crispy rasp that might remind some of Stevie Wonder while her keyboard playing is reminiscent of heavy funk from the 1970s. Yet, she is her own creation. Kearney belts like a creature with a lot going on in her soul. Her emotive qualities are gripping. She has something to say and it pours out like a force of nature. Her rangy vocal powers “To The Moon,” a tune that rides with force over her tasteful low end keyboard notes.
The Lost Onion is up to the task of backing her and creating as many atmospheres as she needs. Carl Johnson’s atmospheric guitar lines are tastefully executed throughout. He plays with subtle understatement when he needs too and at other points he’s as fluid with the notes as a horn player. Bass player Brian Coakley keeps it heavy, solid, and he has a lot of colors on his palette, conjuring up sounds capes that Kearney and Johnson can glide over. Drummer Pete MacLean locks into a groove with Coakley and drives this sound with the momentum of an 18-wheeler barreling down the interstate. The rhythm section, like in all outstanding funk units, know when and where to open the space for the upper registers.
This band have influences of rock and roll, and Latin rhythms mixed into their funk. That energy is always there, ready to be ignited. There is something about the way Kearney and company launch right into “Succotash Blue” that makes me picture their fans crowding onto a dance floor. They know how to move it. Kearney is so assertive vocally here that one listen tells you that even the best players could be challenged by backing her. Her clavinet sound is bubbly and pristine during the keyboard break and she comes back in solid to finish with intricate ensemble playing.
Kearney’s “Bossa Nova Stereo” has the beat of its song title and Johnson moves it forward with edgy funk riffs. From there, Kearney marries the funk to a song about a woman with the wrong mind set, and she’s got the rougher, pushier attitude of Parliament Funkadelic, giving it the feel of someone giving a piece of her mind. “Lunar Interlude” has a groovy horn section of Mark Mullins, Dan Abreu, and Danny Heath giving it the making of something special.
Kearney slows it down on “Prime Meridian,” showing even more vocal power when she takes her time. Her husky, sultry belt takes you away when she rides up her range during the hefty, muscular choruses. Her piano has the graceful pace of a ballad without becoming too sweet. “Gentle And Precise” could go over well on Latin music radio. Kearney has composed it as a rumba tune and Mullin’s trumpet is pure barrio. It also makes you picture the matador and the bull if you listen closely. Some snappy piano chords and rapid drum fills gives it an extra dose of flavoring.
Title track “Year Of The Ox” brings in many influences. Johnson’s electric and acoustic guitars have rock written all over them. Kearney rocks right out in this vividly descriptive song that begins with reading a table placemat and eventually goes into wild scenes: “Drowning scapegoats that are failing to thrive, thrashing just to keep alive in a watery debt they don’t own.”
Kearney churns out the breezy glide of “Oxen Free” like a mix master that functions well at all speeds with all textures. Her light piano tinkling, gentle percussion, and sweet trumpet work make this tune an easy going treat for the ears. Yet, you’d still have to move your feet swiftly if you wanted to dance to it.
Things have been going well for this band since they released Year Of The Ox. Coakley has since left the band and he’s been replaced by the lively Claire Finley. Jen Kearney And The Lost Onion are a local band that you have to hear for yourself. Without delay.
www.jenkearney.com
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