Reviews

Reviews for I DO

“I Do is one of best albums of 2015. The power in this album is the songwriter’s experiences laid out in depths and realism that many artists work full careers or even lifetimes trying to achieve. This album forgoes arrogance deciding instead to focus on not just the stellar construction of the songs and subsequently the full album but to let honesty work its gritty magic. I Do is an important album for humans who feel and are trying to work through what they are living.”
– Walter Price, Global Texan Chronicles

Dave Marsh from Sirius XM Radio wrote, “Jill’s raised her own standard, and delivered completely on things that were maybe only a promise on the first record. I couldn’t be happier for her… and for me. What a relief to find this gem of an album who’s living and breathing… Stronger than the first one in a whole bunch of ways, really builds her a fortress to sing from, and the insights in the songs are as deep and beautiful as always. Brava!”
– Dave Marsh, Sirius XM Radio

“Jill’s album is the kind of record we all love, but get so little of these days. Intimate and powerful vocals, head-jogging lyrics and a killer band. Jill is most obviously a musician who acts, not an actress who has a band. Furthermore, this album was recorded and mixed so expertly and carefully that the intensity of her impressive band never obscures the vocals. Any drummers hearing this record will truly de drooling.”
– Greg Calbi, Sterling Sound

“Hennessy crafted a bunch of warm, personal folk/rock tunes. Hennessy is a throwback who crafts vivid, direct tales. Her songs are meaty and heartfelt.”
– Ed Honduran, Courier Times

After watching Jill perform:

“She’s a cross between Bonnie Raitt and Jennifer Nettles, with a little Alison Krauss thrown in for good measure. Country radio should be clamoring for her new album, I Do.”
– Roger Friedman, Showbizz

“Hennessy showcased her new album, I Do at The Cutting Room in NYC… It was an impressive performance that easily proved any doubters wrong.”
– Ted Chase, QRO Magazine

Reviews for GHOST IN MY HEAD

“Ghost In My Head would be an impressive achievement if it came from someone who’d made a lot of records. As a debut, it’s startling—the bold singing, the edgy arrangements, the precisely phrased lyrics, the unflinching stories that gaze with equal insight upon beleaguered strangers and the people she loves best. These songs feel to me like the work of an artist who sees life whole: tragedy in a phone booth, beauty in the scars”.
– Dave Marsh, Sirius XM Radio

“For the record, the songs on Ghost In My Head are the work of an exceptionally strong and musically mature composer and singer. Vivid narratives – most are sharply drawn vignettes about fractured families and loners struggling with loss, obsessions, isolation, separation and upheaval – are enhanced by aching melodies and superb arrangements. Hennessy’s voice is powerful, distinctive and assured. It deserves to be heard.”
– Greg Quill, Toronto Star

Here’s a CD from the Alberta born singer – recorded in Texas. The cover doesn’t look like much, but right from the first song we’re surprised by the quality of her voice, the warmth of her tone, the very seductive tremolo. After three songs, it becomes apparent that what we have here is a singer with an instinct as sure as Shawn Colvin, Susanne Vega and Tracy Chapman. The musicians are excellent in their execution very impressionistic neo-folk and atmospheric country folk, much like U2’s Joshua Tree, Daniel Lanois, Mellencamp or Robert Earl keen Jr.
Although the production is minimal, Jill and her musicians are sizzling! The songs talk about the difficulties of everyday life, abandonment and solitude, all this in a way Loretta Lynn would have approved of. The discovery of the week! 4 STARS
– Cedric Belanger, Le Journal de Montreal

“Ghost In My Head,” is far removed from the big city. Indeed there’s a rural texture to a lot of it, a wide-open heartland feel permeating songs such as the title track, and “Falling Down,” the latter which is one of a couple of cuts here sounding vaguely reminiscent of folk fave Dar Williams.
Hennessy’s natural vibrato surfaces frequently and proves to be a major force on one of the album’s best tracks, the full band workout “Holding On.”
Along with a strong studio ensemble, she has some impressive guests along for the ride too, including R.E.M.’s Mike Mills, the Dixie Chicks’ Martie Maguire, who contributes fiddle to “Holding On,” and Texas country pedal-steel player/multi-instrumentalist Lloyd Maines.”
– Kevin O’Hare, Newhouse Newswire

“Ghost In My Head is very, very deep… very, very cool.  A huge treat.”
–  Rich Robinson, Brookdale Public Radio

“The songs are dark, dramatic and personal, and well-matched to her full-bodied vocals, somewhat evocative of Tracy Chapman and Joan Armatrading.”
– Philadelphia Daily News