Jennifer Pearl - Even If

Hear The Track Here

In the annals of Soundclick's forum life few ladies have stirred the blood of the pond life that infests said forums than Jennifer Pearl. In the few short months she has been on Soundclick she has become everybody's darling (well, all the men anyway) and that's usually before anyone has heard a lick of her music. Part of the reason for that is because she is very good looking and partly because - at least on the forums - she can be a right mouthy bitch (Ed: Damn it, Gilmore, you can't SAY that!!!) That forthrightness is one of the reasons I first started taking notice of her, and the excellent reviews she was doing for the Critics Corner forum. It wasn't until I reviewed When Will I Let You Go (February 2009) before I finally heard what she had to offer. Put it like this, I have just been listening to the re-released Carole King classic Tapestry - in between reviews as it were - and Jennifer's material and style would fit right in there.

OK, so it's a bit rich to compare someone like Jennifer to one of the 20th Century's leading musical lights (Carole King is probably more famous for her songs than her own style of singing them) but hey, they both write songs and sing them beautifully. Joined in this track by none other than soundtrack maestro Charlie A, Even If promises much. If you are familiar with Charlie's beautifully rendered compositions then the musical side of the track will hold no surprises; lush strings (tastefully used) a evocative and well paced piano figure and enough themes to fill seven other tracks. Admittedly I can be a bit of a philistine when it comes to soundtracks and such but Charlie A has rarely put a foot wrong in all the time I have known him.
Inspired by the track itself, Jennifer immediately set about making it into a love song - as you do. As well as being a bit sniffy about soundtracks I can't generally abide ballads either, which is unfortunate because Even If is actually a combination of both. As I say, Charlie gets by because he knows what he's about and Jennifer slides this ballad down my hearing tracts because she sings it like an angel. The amount of people who have said that Jennifer has a terrific voice is already overwhelming but once this gets more attention I think it will get ever more so. As much as I liked When Will I Let You Go, it just doesn't show how much power and emotion Jennifer can bring to bear with the right material - and boy is this the right material. The way her voice soars and twists on the words 'We're bound, Like vines we're wound. We're tied by the angels' cries' sends shivers down my spine every time I hear it. Actually, on second thoughts, that comparison to Carole King isn't that rich at all and Even If is the proof.

Brrrrr. MUST HAVE (sheesh) ballad. KILLER vocals.