There’s a whole lot to love on Strange Beginnings, the debut full-length from Jennifer Tefft & The Strange produced by Bob St. John (Who worked on Medazzaland, one of our most favorite underrated Duran Duran outings among other highlights). It’s the stellar songwriting from Tefft, the all around musicianship of “The Strange” (More on the band later), the diversity of styles represented across the 8 tracks within, and that’s just barely scratching the surface of what makes Strange Beginnings so solid.
“Caffeine” was a killer track on its’ own but utilize it as an opening track for what we could only imagine would be more of the same as the album unfolds and that’s nothing short of sequencing brilliance. You ever get these songs that stick around in your noodle for some time and then you hear them again on a full album and it just hits different? That’s “Caffeine” in the context of Strange Beginnings. In contrast, “Paper Cut” is quieter and tonally quite different with ethereal guitar licks from lead guitarist John Parrillo nicely placed over acoustic strums as Tefft soulfully croons and then “Shoulda Known Better” gets back to the loud for a straight out of the ’90’s romp in a Toadies vein as bassist Stephen “Sharky” Beccia and drummer Chris Georgenes gallop along on their respective instruments (With a guitar assist from Alex Garcia).
“Lullaby” is haunting then goes off into some Siouxsie Soux territory, “Second Chance” is uplifting with a tad of twang in there, and “Down On My Knees” is a big Rawk anthem with Tefft showing off some rad vocal runs. Also previously released, “Going Out” is the penultimate power rawker with Parrillo, Georgenes, and Beccia bringing the heft instrumentally as Tefft belts out a bit of perfect sing-a-long fodder during the chorus. “Love & War” wraps up Strange Beginnings with a driving ditty that’s big and bold and closes out this solid debut just as solidly as it began.
Strange Beginnings drops through Rock Garden Records on May 17th and you can get yer pre-save on now by heading here or here (Or by clicking on the stream below). For more from Jennifer Tefft & The Strange, including info on their upcoming record release partay on June 14th at Fireseed Arts Studio, follow the trail of socials by clicking here or here.