Dangerous Woman – Flowers For Jayne (self released)“Dangerous Woman” is the debut album and it’s Murphy’s accumulated songs written over 25 years set to hard rock and pop templates.
In case you hadn’t guessed, FFJ's primarily about the guitars. Murphy has a warm and crunchy tone that echoes Johnny Thunders at times, and she isn’t afraid to bring as much multi-tracking to the recording party as a song needs. Hall provides the sinewy bass-lines and Ciampa sits in the pocket with his foot on the accelerator for most of the journey, providing feel and power.
“New Year Sun” is a cracking opener, an optimistic fuzzy pop rocker. “Dangerous Woman” was the video single and the best track of the 11 here, a hooky rock song lathered in layered guitar. “Still With You” echoes Crazy Horse without the bum notes.
“Helpless” provides light and vulnerability and is a nuanced ballad that Jayne delivers with a quavering vocal that’s just right for the song. There’s more than a passing resemblance to Bryan Ferry when he was in pre-bland-out mode with Roxy Music (cock an ear to “Still With You” for more proof) and the late Peter Shelley (“I Want You”).
“On My Mind” is a disjointed but raunchy pop song that recalls the latter-day Spiders, while the jagged lead-break in “Personality” gives an edge to the tune’s chug. “Insomnia” is the heavyweight contender of the album and displays a a neat shift away from 4/4 time.
ARIA-winning producer Anton Hagop recorded the guitars and mixed the album, with the balance captured by Geoff Lee at Zen. It sounds damn good.
2/3
