Multi-instrumentalist and singer-songwriter Olivia Jean entered the spotlight as a part of garage-goth band The Black Belles. Now, she’s ventured into the realm of solo artist with her debut LP, Bathtub Love Killings via Jack White’s Third Man Records imprint.
As critic Jim DeRogatis noted last month, “Given the way she plays with pre-Beatles pop images, as well as how she relies on sultry delivery and plenty of attitude much more than on a perfect-pitch voice, the comparison between Olivia Jean and Lana Del Rey is inevitable. But as I made abundantly clear in my reviews of Born to Die and Ultraviolence, Lana’s bad girl posing is seriously undercut by her willingness to pander to the bad boys (possibly to the point of self-abuse), while Olivia isn’t playing anyone’s game but her own, much less serving as anyone’s doormat.
“This is what makes her a true child of Wanda Jackson, one of the many artists she’s backed as part of the Third Man family and house band, and more power to her.”
Upon the release of her debut solo album, the Detroit native told Diffuser, “The songs on this record have been in my head for years and I’m finally ready for them to be unleashed.” Along with the release of the album, Jean premiered the music video for her single “Merry Widow” on Elle last month.
Promoting her solo LP, Jean is performing at DC’s Rock and Roll Hotel on Friday, December 12—with Jake Starr and the Delicious Fullness and Wanted Man opening—and we have a pair of tickets to give away!
For a chance to win a pair of tickets to see Olivia Jean at the Rock and Roll Hotel on Friday, December 12, comment below citing a female musician who, like Olivia Jean, left a band to pursue a solo career.
One winner will be chosen a week from today, December 11, and notified directly via email. Tickets are still available.
