Deeply moving, reflective pop and country-infused charm.
Jenn Grant is a multi-award-winning Canadian singer-songwriter with eight albums to date. Queen of the Strait is, however, by far the most personal. It covers many deeply private subjects, including escaping from a dark physical attack when she was 18 and living briefly in London, to the heartbreak of going on a local TV show when she was a child to give her dog away as her mother was unable to pay for needed heart surgery. Daddy and his Shotgun reveals her memories of being taken Goose hunting by her father and how she would become somehow attached and name the birds before they were shot down. She is now a vegetarian. The bravery she has shown to write about these and other events that have shaped her life and beliefs is quite extraordinary.
The title track draws its name from the ferry that carried her and her brother as children between her two separated parents after an extremely difficult separation: “We would witness our mother build a new life from heartbreak to yielding a sense of adventure and magic in the years that followed”. It has a picturesque, dreamlike feel to it.
The production is simple but very effective and in perfect keeping with the reflective nature of all the songs. They are all perfect vignettes, each with its own evocative feel and each one feels deeply intimate. Her voice is very relaxed and has a charming quality to it, not quite country and not quite pop, but a delicate blend of both.
Put it on a Shelf is an exceptional song, raw in terms of its subject matter, but she has put it to some delicate stringed music it does demand close attention to the lyrics. Grant says after being coerced to go out for dinner and drinks, she “awoke in a room I didn’t know, and through some fierce beast of strength I escaped dark violence. It took me twenty years to write about this, but I do so now from a place of power…… but that story is also not mine to carry on my own anymore. This song is an act of resistance. It is my voice coming back to me, standing up for myself and all women”. A very sad reflection and clearly reminiscent of the struggles many women are currently dealing with.
“This album is an autobiographical tale made from some of the most impactful stories of my life. Lyrically, I feel it’s my most direct and most poetic work to date.” Many would certainly agree with that. The record cries out to be listened to and taken seriously. It is a very powerful piece of work that doesn’t preach but carries hope for the future.
