In the 90s, she got us all singing the light hearted guitar pop song “Crush”, and many of us probably forgot her since. Back then, I actually bought the album, which actually did end up being one of my favorites to play for several years. It was a mix of pop and r&b, and one dance remix. Everything I was into, basically.
A few weeks ago, I noticed a tweet about a new single by Jennifer Paige. The single is called “Forget Me Not” and it’s a completely different sound compared to what I remember her for. I really consider her to be one of those easy listening artists. She rarely produces anything high tempo.
“Forget Me Not” has got a lot of energy to it, especially for her. It’s a synth-pop song that is only influenced by the 80s movement of this genre. It’s definitely not a full blown throwback track. It is, however, a full blown “getting-over-you-and-moving-on” track.
The track is part of a new album called “Starflower”, which I couldn’t help but give a try. It continues in this sound. Where the guitar offered a prominent foundation in her music back in the 90s, the synthesizer has replaced this. Her vocals still have a dreamy sound to it (you can even call it slightly trippy on some tracks), due to the harmonies that support the lead vocal and some of the impeccable timing of echoes, but she has stepped up her game. At times, she has a little more power to her voice now.
Throughout the album, the experimental electronic sound makes this a real exciting album. Every track is truly different and there’s a mix of ballads and mid-tempo synth-pop songs, and one instrumental track.
If I had to draw a comparison, I can only say that she reminds me of The Bangles every once in a while, and some of the new Blondie material comes to mind as well. “January” reminds me of Amanda Marshall or Sheryl Crow, but in all honesty Jennifer has really created a nice sound to identify herself with and stand out from the rest.
To remind people of her, she’s also added a brand new acoustic ballad version of “Crush”, which sounds like it could be in a movie.
