Jenny Toomey, Antidote
Misra Records
Chris Dahlen
Jenny Toomey is a strong singer. She's not a "diva" or a shrieker: she's articulate. She says what's on her mind as much as how she feels. She can rock and she can croon, but she can also make an explanation or an argument, not unlike the inner monologues sung by those braniac characters in Sondheim musicals. She wants to get her ideas across, and she tackles dense lyrics and clever wordplay so easily that she may as well be talking.
Toomey is a career away from her early work in Tsunami, which began as a raw-bordering-on-amateur two-guitar punk band led by herself and Kristin Thomson. Toomey started with a lot of noise and some great hooks, but her music was never, at heart, loud—no band that writes a cut called "Punk Means Cuddle" can be deemed aggressive. Tsunami became polished by their third album, the fantastic A Brilliant Mistake, and Toomey worked on folk/pop projects such as Liquorice. She made many strong recordings in the '90s but, with the exception of Brilliant Mistake, no album has been as much of a success as her new solo album Antidote—her definitive statement as a singer and songwriter.
The last Tsunami album had some poppy arrangements, but Antidote is gorgeous. There are horns and strings behind Toomey's voice, which has never sounded better or been better recorded. This is extremely accessible pop— debateably even "adult alternative": a hip teenager can enjoy it with her soccer mom. But listen closely and you'll hear how indie the recording was: there are only a couple horns punching the chorus on "Charm City," and only two string players on "Breezewood, PA." Not to mention that she employs an all-star indie roster that includes members of Ida and Lambchop, plus Amy Domingues on cello and the stellar Andrew Bird playing violin.
Toomey separated the songs onto two discs, each named for the city where it was recorded. "Chicago" is poppier and catchier, and "Nashville" rocks harder and croons more sadly. Toomey's songs have often taken the offense, against everyone from record companies to people who talk during her set—but this album consists of almost nothing but love songs, and many of them sound ambivalent. The opener, "Patsy Cline," is hilariously snarky—Toomey has explained it as "advice for the new girlfriend of an ex-boyfriend"—but in "Breezewood, PA," intricate images describe failing to get together with a crush: "What do you say we elope for a day and a night off to Breezewood PA/the city of over one thousand friendly motels." The rejected woman in "Unclaimed" tears ass in "Charm City," and those two songs together belong on radio playlists everywhere.
As the former co-head of an indie music label, and current executive director of the Future for Music Coalition, Toomey has a thorough understanding of both sides of making a record. So it's strange that the record has had limited distribution. You can't find it in practically any chain or independent record store, except Other Music (with two locations nationwide). Even after getting press in major papers, the record has had trouble getting on shelves.
It's depressing that this may not be a breakthrough hit. Creatively, however, it made sense for Toomey to stay indie. She won't get played on national radio or make it on the soundtrack to the Bridget Jones sequel; but she made exactly the album she wanted and created a masterpiece.
Related resources
Two of Toomey's recent concerts are avaiable via streaming video at Digital Club Network.
Check out Jenny Toomey's site for tour information, news, and photos. Her tour diary includes notes on talks and panel discussions as well as concerts.
The Coalition for the Future of Music's site is important reading. There's also good stuff on insound.com's "the machine"—including Toomey and Kristin Thomson's "Introductory Mechanic's Guide to Putting Out Records, Cassettes and CD's."
It may be tough to find this record in stores, but that's not a problem for you net-savvy folks, because you can just go buy it at insound.com, or by snail-mailing Misra Records.