Friday, January 8, 2010

Quick Hitters:: Jenocide - Machines to Make Us Wet

Someone might want to get Alanis on the horn for this one, because not only would she no doubt feel some girl-power kinship with Jenocide, but it's also somewhat ironic (nudge, nudge) that it's my immaturity that makes me feel kind of like a creepy old man for enjoying Jenocide's debut album Machines to Make Us Wet. Not like Jenocide would care much, as her alter ego, Jen Clarke, is the only female member of hi-jinks-loving Halifax outfit Windom Earle, so she's likely seen her fair share of immaturity I would think.

In reality though, my enjoyment of Machines is purely innocent and not surprising really, as the electrofied jams found on the album are just damn catchy. Some of the credit for that goes to beatmaster Ed Renzi, who meshes his drum-dense production with Jen's confident, 80's-inspired vocals and synth playing to excellent effect. And really, although the female empowerment quotient is at a high level on the album, as she says in this Coast feature, Jenocide isn't trying to exclude anyone:

"People get scared off by the word feminist," she says. "But I just wanted to create a character that is strong, and not completely alienating. I have a message for those who identify with it, and if you're about it, that's awesome."

Well we're about it, 'bout it here at the hill. I'm partial to the more uptempo songs on the album, as I could listen to the 1-2 opening punch of Coming For You and Fashion Icon (and it's Push It-esque synth line) on repeat with little to no problem. But there are plenty of other jams to get your one-person party started, like the dense groove of On/Off, the almost spoken-word house of Junglefk (I Want It) and the hypnotic 28 Mansions. It's the kind of clever album I'd want my daughters dancing to in their room, if I had daughters, and not sons. Oh, but I might erase the tags on the mp3's unless my daughters were old enough to not come to me with awkward-times inducing questions about song titles like Boa Constrict Her and Junglefk.

So, if you're in need of getting some indie kids on the dancefloor, I think you'd be wise to get Jenocide on your side.