Like Penelope Houston and Bonnie Hayes, her compatriots on the San Francisco punk and new wave scene of the late-'70s and early-'80s (she fronted a minor act called Exposure, who only released one 1983 single), Eva Jay Fortune went from the sound and fury of punk into an altogether more mature and reflective singer/songwriter style. With a voice that recalls Syd Straw's dusky wail (without the overt country twang), and a taste for dramatic minor-key arrangements that touch on psychedelia ("Wishes"); Aimee Mann-style singer ...
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Like Penelope Houston and Bonnie Hayes, her compatriots on the San Francisco punk and new wave scene of the late-'70s and early-'80s (she fronted a minor act called Exposure, who only released one 1983 single), Eva Jay Fortune went from the sound and fury of punk into an altogether more mature and reflective singer/songwriter style. With a voice that recalls Syd Straw's dusky wail (without the overt country twang), and a taste for dramatic minor-key arrangements that touch on psychedelia ("Wishes"); Aimee Mann-style singer/songwriter confessionalism ("Stay"); shimmering '60s-influenced pop ("Standing in the Rain"); and even a little Afro-beat (the rubbery "Circle Bound"); Eva Jay Fortune largely avoids clichéd ideas both lyrically and musically, making So Far Gone an expressive, wide-ranging piece of work that reveals more on each listen. ~ Stewart Mason, Rovi
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