As is so often the case, I first stumbled upon the music of Jane Weaver because of the appearance on one of her records of a name: in her case, the name was Julian House, sub nom The Focus Group. And, as it happens, the record of hers that carried this name was a strange beast, not really a remix album, not really an album of her own as such, maybe something like an appendage to an album. It had me confused, as did the cover art. What was this thing? What was Susan Christie doing on it? Who the heck was Jane Weaver?
Her connection with Finders Keepers suggests either some kind of throwback to obscure early seventies folk singers or -- sharp intake of breath -- the Real Thing. It seems, to the extent that one can trust the Wiki, that she has been a working musician since the 1990s, a decade I continue to fail to understand, at least in musical terms. But I don't think she sounds very nineties.
One thing is for certain: she has a voice to be reckoned with; a voice that hasn't, so far as I can tell, sounded better, or maybe that should be "been used to better effect", than it is here.
The Julian House connection is apt. As you know, he did the (overused-adjective alert) "iconic" cover art for Broadcast's records, and this song sounds like nothing if not a lost Broadcast song. (Well, you could say it sounds like Trish Keenan singing a song written and played by Marissa Nadler and her peeps.) In fact, maybe it sounds a little like a plausible sequel to "Tears In The Typing Pool".
If you can connect with the last few sentences, you may even find that it makes you cry a bit, even if only on the inside.
