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Jenn Summers When Life Gives You Lemons, Make L.O.V.E. Review by Gary Hill If you like pop rock music that has some great performances and fairly wide musical range, this is a great one for you to check out. Sometimes it feels a bit country, often it is retro in texture. The one thing that’s consistent throughout, though, is quality. This is strong pop rock music that works quite well. This review is available in book format (hardcover and paperback) in Music Street Journal: 2012 Volume 4 at lulu.com/strangesound.

Track by Track Review

Blue Velveteen There’s a definite country edge to this song, but overall it’s very much a killer pop rock ballad with a lot of retro textures. It’s a great way to start things off in style.

Get Better While there’s not a huge change here, the country vibe is gone and this really feels more modern. Still, there’s enough of that retro sound to make it feel like it might have been at home on the radio in the 1970s.

When Life Gives You Lemons, Make L.O.V.E. The arrangement on this tune is more stripped down. It’s a catchy and fun little number.

This Side of Free The energy is back and this cut has the most modern pop rock sound of the set. In a world of all else being equal, this surely deserves to be on the radio. It’s melodic, catchy and classic in sound.

Don't Mind Me While this is a bit mellower, it’s still in the same general motif as the previous number. That said, this is not redundant or tired in any way.

The Monday Song (...Da.Da.Da...) I love the non-lyrical vocal hook that opens this (hint, it’s in the parenthetical). It leads to another pop rock groove that’s great. In fact, this is arguably one of the highlights of the set. It will have you signing along and it’s just so tasty. There’s certainly a lot of folk music on this, particularly on the stripped down section mid-track.

Wake Me Up The vocal performance on this tune is among the best on the disc. It’s a strong cut that stands up tall on a set of good songs. There are some great melodic elements to be found here.

Muchi Muchi A mellower cut, there’s a real world meets folk music texture to this one. It’s a nice change and fun, but not really a standout.

On My Own Somehow this is one of the strongest tunes on the disc. The chorus is just so catchy and captivating and the piece just works so well.

Bad Idea The closing number is a mellow and pretty ballad. I like this one a lot, but I’m not sure it’s the best choice for final song.

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