Melodic pop with an acoustic flavour and intelligent lyrics.

11 MP3 Songs
POP: Folky Pop, FOLK: like Ani



Details:
Penny Flanagan

Penny Flanagan started her professional music career at 19, as one half of a much-loved folk-acoustic pop duo, called Club Hoy (two girls with acoustic guitars.) The focus was on female harmonies, strong melodies and thoughtful lyrics. Club Hoy released three EPs and one album and fast became Australiaâs most widely lauded, ââ¬Ënext big things,â consistently playing to sold out audience all over the country. But two girls can only go so far without having a fight. And after three intense, successful years, Club Hoy split up before they could realise their full commercial potential.

Penny soldiered on, releasing one album through a major label, Bravado (Regular/Festival) before becoming frustrated by the labelâs requirement for hit songs, (as opposed to a good quality album full of growers.) So with a build-up of songs in her system and a strong live following, Penny extricated herself from her major label deal and begin to release her music independently, through her own label, Penny Dreadful Records. Her first independent release was an acoustic live recording, ââ¬ËSeven Flights Up,â which was compared favourably to Joni Mitchell. Penny has continued to tour and sell her music indpendently ever since.

In 1999, Penny recorded and released her strongest batch of songs yet, âLight Sleeper.â It received glowing reviews in both the February and June editions of Australian Rolling Stone, (the most incandescent of which appears in full below) and sold enough copies to recoup costs and beyond. The album was produced by Tim Powles, (The Church) and features a duet with Steve Kilbey, (ââ¬ËInto the Sun.â)

Originally distributed by Fido music into stores around Australia, ââ¬ËLight Sleeper,â is no longer available at retail. However, Penny continues to receive mail orders and email requests from potential fans all around the world. Which is why she has now decided to distribute it digitally through CD Baby.

If you like Jewel, Sarah McLachlan, Shawn Colvin, Neil Finn and Ani Difranco, and youâre looking for a new CD to play on a slow, dreamy Sunday morning, give Light Sleeper a try.

If youâre still unsure, hereâs what the Australian press said about it when it was first released:

âHere is fine pop where the hooks break through to pull along in a manner ethereal.â Telemirror, 18/3/1999

âFlanaganâs sly arrangements and natural melodies are soaked in Neil Finnâs influence... A mature and intelligent release from a genuine talent, deserving of wider success.â Rolling Stone, February 1999

Full Review from Rolling Stone, June 1999

"Alienation and insomnia in 11 songs with attitude and hummable tunes.

Local artist Penny Flanagan, is an artful songwriter. Generous tunes are strung out on barbarous guitars, her own and others, and tight kit and drumbox beats by Tim Powles (The Church.) Her theme is love with a strong fix on alienation and isolation, bleak but astute observations of the seismic pain which can erupt in the most subtle emotional fractures and betrayals. Her voice, almost fragile, zooms in to look at the damage in microscopic detail, and zooms out, almost strident, to take a more clinical, fly-on-the-wall view: âAnd I will curve into your shell, and you will think you know me well, and into sleepless dark I fall, reaching for the curving walls.â Flanagan is no bleeding heart, but for all the chill in her performance this isnât bloodless and it should be hugely successful.â
Rating: Three and a half stars out of five.
Lesley Sly


Penny no longer tours or writes music. She now writes novels about writing and performing music. Her first book, a novel for teenagers called ââ¬ËChanging the Sky,â was published by Hodder Headline. She followed that with her debut adult fiction, âSing to me,â published by Penguin Books in 1998. She is currently raising three children and working on her third novel.