Jen Trynin - Gun Shy Trigger Happy

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Music reviews of Gun Shy Trigger Happy

Music Review: Insert favorite superlative here
Rating: 5 Stars

For one thing, Trynin is an excellent guitarist whose playing is concise and often powerful. (One may be surprised to find, given the varied texture of the parts, that she is the album's sole guitarist.) She sticks to catchy, crunchy riffs and simple guitar figures that often develop throughout the songs, and her "solos" are chord/rhythm-oriented, which contributes to the taut structure of each song. "Gun Shy" has a wealth of beautifully realized musical ideas that compliment Trynin's pared-to-the-bone lyrics and evocative singing. She and producer Mike Deneen have used the bite of Trynin's 1994 major label debut, "Cockamamie," as a foundation and filled out her sound with such subtlety and imagination that every song is wholly satisfying in its own way. Personal favorites: "Getaway," which builds majestically on layers of rhythm guitars and backing vocals; "Writing Notes," where Trynin decries lost innocence with touching candor; and the delicate "Rang You and Ran," which is as neat a capsule as anyone needs about vulnerability in the face of a failed relationship.

Regrettably, after such an artistic triumph, Trynin was dropped by her label due to what she has diplomatically described as "restructuring" in the music industry. We may all seize on music biz foolishness as an easy excuse for why "Gun Shy" didn't go platinum right out of the gate, but anyone familiar with the history of great music that somehow slipped through the cracks knows that this is the kind of album whose reputation grows by word of mouth and eventually becomes a classic. In other words, stand "Gun Shy/Trigger Happy" up next to The Velvet Underground's third album and Big Star's "Radio City." It's really that good.

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