Jen Woodhouse

"... Jen Woodhouse isn't afraid to take risks on her debut, 'This Honest Age' reflecting the influence of other adventurous singer-songwriters like Tori Amos and Ani DiFranco." - Jack Silverman

"There’s a whole lot to like in Jen Woodhouse’s debut album. It is original, vibrant and most of all, true to its on-the-mark name, honest. I love honest. These ten original tunes are lushly orchestrated and fearlessly intelligent, and her voice is warm and confident, full of color and strength. Her songs are an imaginative mix of guitar-driven folk/rock with a jazz feel that works beautifully.

Lyrically, Woodhouse challenges you to think; her words don’t just wash over you unnoticed. I like that, too. For the lazier listener, the sound alone will get you there. “Breaking Point” opens the CD with a sharpness that takes your breath away, her voice sultry, her words fierce and probing. Next cut, “Your Window,” is one of the best, thanks to David Browning’s superb string arrangements under Woodhouse’s languorous vocal wanderings. And yes, she scats. She scats well in fact. “Not Myself” is stunning in its bravery and freshness. “I am not myself, I am someone else, I am not myself with you.”

This honest age, indeed. Next song, “If Only,” keeps the brilliance coming, a sublimely tender organ carrying the soaring chorus. Hints of Joni Mitchell’s “Hissing of Summer Lawns” elegant lucidity.

But diversity is the name of her game, and next thing you know you’re rocking out to the Sheryl Crow-ish “Walking in Winter,” wild scat notwithstanding. The superb mixing of Jon Young can be appreciated on the ethereal “Hello Beautiful”; Woodhouse sounds somehow as if she’s singing from a moving stage. Which I know is a strange comment, but you’d have to hear the song to know how perfectly it works. The mystery of these details often adds to a song’s power; this is such a case.

Closing with “Corners of This Room,” a bluesy rock cut reminiscent of Procol Harum, all throbbing organ and dead-on lyrics, Woodhouse leaves you wanting more. And I suspect more will be coming. One can only hope." - Kevan Breitinger, Indie-Music.com

As an artist you have plenty of roads to take, some lead into serpentine dead ends, and some lead to bridges with everglades shining through on the other side. The path chosen is always unpredictable. Even with dead ends, you never know what you will come against before the sudden stop to your journeys. Independent artists have an advantage though, they're the ones that decide, explore and, if need be, cease to move. When it comes to their medium, they have total control and, like Jen Woodhouse, they have the top of the world in mind and the sky is barely the limit.

Equipped with a meritorious band and a silky voice, Jen is writing songs that are aching (and severely deserving) to be heard, escorting you into a paradise of melodies and pulchritudinous harmonies. There was something that confounded me about her songwriting while reading her lyrics, and it wasn't the random capitalization of words (with purpose), but how intimately sincere and human they are. No need to add forced and caricatural metaphors and hyperboles, Jen plans to handhold you through her streams of inspiration with her purity, inviting you to keep listening. There is always another story to tell for these women that can't help but convert pain and disappointment into beautiful art.

Style-wise, you get the bold folkiness (with spurs of scat) of Ani DiFranco (Not Myself) and the smooth grace of Dido (Hello Beautiful), offered with a glamour and feminine sensitivity that makes these tracks both special and fresh. Throughout the album, the lack of excessive sounds and synthetic beats that suffocate popular music today will surely refresh those who are parched for a passage to the basics. Listen to This Honest Age and be prepared for a rapture lead by an unprejudiced stir of wonderful talent, and let's revel with the muses that make women like Jen so important to the soundtracks within our lives.

--Marco Nieves, SoundAffects.net
- SoundAffects.net

My first impression of Jen Woodhouse was that she is very creative as the envelope that arrived was covered with beautiful doodling. Luckily she's creative in her music as well.

She has a knack for creating cool melodies that suit her vocal style nicely.

Stand out songs: "Searching for Orion" and "If Only"

--Amy Lotsberg, CollectedSounds.com - CollectedSounds.com

In This Honest Age, Woodhouse has created an album that is refreshing and impressive, particularly because as an unsigned artist, she is as indie as they come. The production on the album is near flawless, which is feat enough. She caught my attention almost immediately, as she bares an almost uncanny resemblance to one of my favorite singer-songwriters, Jennifer Knapp. She utilizes the same guitar-driven melodies, uptempo disposition, and improvisational vocals. Ah yes, the vocals. Woodhouse’s voice rings out with an acrobatic flair that is just subdued enough to avoid the showy pretension that plagues most R&B singers (you know what I mean, “Super Bowl National Anthem performer syndrome”). Her music seems like singer-songwriter, in that it is driven by vocals, with instrumentation that, although good, always takes a back seat. However, there is still plenty going on in the background, so I’m tempted to classify it as more of a jazz-infused guitar pop. Think of a mix of Jennifer Knapp, Jonatha Brooke, and Joni Mitchell, with plenty of scat thrown in for good measure. The latter is the element that really grabs your attention and separates Woodhouse from the rest of the up-and-comers in her genre. What’s nice is that it really jells with her seemingly effortless delivery. Instead of forcing out scat lines with Armstrong or Fitzgerald-like moxie, she evenly and fluidly transitions between lyrics and prattling turns of phrase, all with seamless ease.

The best tracks are the first two, “Breaking Point” and “Your Window.” The latter is what sold me on the album, with its sultry, sensual scat (try and imagine scat as sensual if you can… Jen pulls it off). The rest of the songs are full of graceful acoustic guitar runs and evocative vocals. - Seth Steiling, CDReviews.com

"We had Jen Woodhouse on the 'Chris & Steve Morning Mayhem Show' and all I can say is WOW! Jen is a talent that comes once in a lifetime. Never have I heard a voice so true and pure! She is what music needs today. If you like artists with talent, you will love Jen... we do!" - Steve Stevens

"... [This Honest Age] is a sultry concoction of raw emotion and brutal lyrical honesty as channeled through Woodhouse's cool blend of pop, jazz and blues..." - Brett Buckner, Features