I had the pleasure of seeing Jennifer “J.O.” Ordalen perform live at the Bend in the Road bar in Manchester on Saturday night to a standing-room-only crowd. What a terrific band! And a band it was. Make no mistake, these were not glitzy, glammed up performers with a half-hearted light show, as much as just straight-up musicians. Their set up was clean and simple, with little if any stage lighting and fluff, yet the sound quality and mix was great! It sounded as good as the record.

After learning of Ordalen through an article in this paper recently, I went my Napster subscription, and there it was, her debut CD “Cracks in the Concrete.” I spent a couple weeks listening to the songs before I saw the live show. Ordalen played almost the entire album, if memory serves, and her covers were fantastic, most notably a cover of “Superstition.”

Jennifer has a very capable band, most notably the bass player and guitar player and when added to Jennifer’s clear, strong voice, it makes for a very clean and defined sound. The title track is “Cracks in the Concrete,” a cute little number, but I suspect “Ain’t Nobody’s Business” will end up the most popular track on the CD. Jennifer sounds a little like Joss Stone with a slight, yet defined country edge. She flows easily between rock, country, soul and R&B. Of course, I like the rock and soul best. Because her voice is so strong and clear, I’d like to hear her do more rock, blues and soul, say something like Eva Cassiday’s version of “Oh, Had I a Golden Dream.”

I’d recommend hearing this great local talent if you get a chance because she’s in it for the music to be sure.

William Boyenga

Albert Lea