JENN BUTTERWORTH
Her By Design
Having built an enviable reputation for her instrumental prowess and what she can bring to an ensemble, Her By Design is Jenn’s debut album, where the focus is shared by her voice, guitar virtuosity, personal feminist philosophy, all expressed through a choice of songs that combines both modern and traditional classics and self-penned numbers, all around a theme of the female experience. Oh, and we can also marvel at the quality of those musicians she has assembled around her – a testament to her achievements to date and a belief in her future.
Boldly opening with her version of Sandy Denny’s ‘All Our Days’, not for Jenn the safety of a straight cover, but rather shortening the song, replacing the familiar orchestration with a string quartet and upping the tempo, she may recognise a good song when she hears it, but is sufficiently confident to impose her own arrangement, and her self-belief is fully repaid by the results.
From a classic musing on the passage of the seasons and time itself, we are then treated to the cautionary tale ‘Little Sparrow’, (or ‘Come All Ye Fair And Tender Ladies’ if you prefer), traditional and lyrical both, again her own arrangement with her voice given the lead against a gently, intricate accompaniment.
Described as a feminist album, it is the case that that each song tells a story of sorts, and in that regard it is less the polemic the description may imply, but one that allows the listener to reflect on the experiences being described. Thus, we have stories of jealousy in ‘A Toast’, the unthanked drudgery of domestic servitude in ‘The Housewive’s Lament’ and the curse of Endometrioisis, affecting one in ten women, yet so slowly diagnosed, generally misunderstood, too often unrecognised and with treatment patchy at best.
Her By Design has its roots in personal experience and observation, yet uses her voice and musical strengths to express universal truths. A triumph of a debut album and all the remarkable for that.
