Local Review: Officer Jenny – ~*queen of cups*~

Officer Jenny
~*queen of cups*~

Self-Released
Street: 09.19
Officer Jenny = The Antlers + Sufjan Stevens + Craig Wedren

Art comes from a place of pain that, when revisited, reopens wounds that can never fully heal except through acceptance. In a stunning new EP, ~*queen of cups*~, Provo musician Stephen Cope faces their childhood demons in search of overcoming them. In striking contrast to the EP’s theme, melodious odes swell, swirl and stain musical memories forever. Cope’s fragile delivery quavers and haunts, faintly reminiscent of The Antlers’ Peter Silberman, especially in the album’s opening track, “Father Doted Over Me.” Cope’s imagery paints the painful portrait of abuse: “Father doted over me/With a branch in hand/From the Birchwood tree.” In the midst of violence, sheer beauty emerges. The harmonies resonate like voices from soothing ghosts in “Nothing Feels Real.” The comforting sounds of the French horn in “They Told Me Death Was Not the End” help Cope face mortality with sweet serenity. The lonely way a banjo can summon lurks throughout “Semen Samples pt.1.” ~*queen of cups*~ is nothing short of a triumph. –Stephan Wyatt