Australia’s own sonic chanteuse Penny Ikinger, famously known for her mind warping, note bending dirty rock, has changed tempo to deliver 'Penelope', a sparkling new CD filled with twelve perfect classic pop tunes.
Long known for her career as a guitarist with Wet Taxis and Louis Tillett, Penny has also performed and recorded with Tex Perkins, Deniz Tek, Kim Salmon and Sacred Cowboys. Adrian Belew, Frank Zappa’s guitarist of choice, has twice asked her to tour Australia with him. Over the last five years she has performed constantly here in Australia as well as Europe, the US, Canada, Japan and NZ.
Mixing post-punk attack with swingin’ sixties attitude and 70’s guitar experimentation to cajole and reshape the traditional pop song structure, Penny has managed to crank out note-perfect, unforgettable pop bliss in the process of recording 'Penelope'.
“I wrote the songs on Penelope within the confines of the concise structure of a pop song format. I like finding ways to be experimental and push the music around inside that framework. I don’t like smarmy pop music, so these songs came out slightly bent, which is what I was after.”
Penny has assembled an impressive coterie of friends for the making of 'Penelope'. The album includes contributions from local rock legends Deniz Tek, Ron Peno, Dave Graney, Clare Moore, Mark Ferrie and Charlie Owen with French notables Dimi Dero and Vinz Guilluy also making their presence felt.
CD artwork features booklet designed by Melbourne based graphic artist and guitarist/bassist Mark Ferrie (Sacred Cowboys, The Slaughtermen, Models).
SELECT QUOTES:
"Penelope...a brilliant and bold record .... It's as great an album as you'll hear in these troubled and testing times. Don't die wondering" -
The Barman - i94bar webzine (Australia)
"Penny Ikinger is precious! A very rare kind of guitarist/singer, she combines a velvet voice with a daring and adventurous playing style ...from the brilliant and luminous "Fragile" to the perfect "Sycamore Tree"... Miss Penny has more than one trick in her bag, and masters different styles with her six-string" Alain Feydri - Abus Dangereux (France)
"...a menacing mix of styles and influences from bluesy, dirty rock to swaggering '60s inspired pop, but it all hangs together with a dangerous edge." Mag, JB HI FI (Australia)
"Penny Ikinger is irresistible. You know she'll leave you damaged but you can't resist her charms."Mag, JB HiFi (Australia)
"Penelope...a pop record with a decidedly unique attitude. Opener Into The Slipstream and track three, Fragile, are worth the price of admission alone for their paradoxical strength and vulnerability, their experimentation and conformity, their out and out untouchable coolness." Tony McMahon - InPress Magazine (Australia)
credits
released January 1, 2010
INTO THE SLIPSTREAM (P.Ikinger/ B Hooper)
Penny Ikinger - guitar and vocals
Clare Moore and Dave Graney – backing vocals
Shamus Goble – drums
Craig Harnath - bass
MONTANA TO MEXICO (P. Ikinger)
Penny Ikinger – guitar and vocals
Deniz Tek – guitar
Craig Harnath – bass
Shamus Goble – drums
FRAGILE (P. Ikinger)
Penny Ikinger – guitar, Hammond organ and vocals
Deniz Tek - guitar
Clare Moore – drums and backing vocals
Dave Graney – bass and backing vocals
Ron Sanchez – string synthesizer
HEART SONG (P. Ikinger)
Penny Ikinger – guitar and vocals
Andrew McCubbin – guitar
Shamus Goble – drums
Deniz Tek – percussion
Peter Mavric – bass
Craig Harnath – backing vocals
WHEN WE GET TO THE LAND (P. Ikinger)
Penny Ikinger – guitar and vocals
Vinz Guilluy – bass
Dimi Dero – drums
SYCAMORE TREE (P. Ikinger)
Penny Ikinger – guitar and vocals
Mark Ferrie – bass
Craig Harnath – percussion programming
Finn Keane – backing vocals
DIRTY POOL (P. Ikinger)
Penny Ikinger – guitar and vocals
Charlie Owen – guitar and Fender Rhodes
Mark Ferrie – bass
Dimi Dero – drums
IMPOSSIBLE LOVE (P. Ikinger)
Penny Ikinger – guitar and vocals
Clare Moore – drums and backing vocals
Geoffrey Hales –percussion
Peter Mavric – bass
DOWN THE SOUTH ROAD (P. Ikinger)
Penny Ikinger – guitar and vocals
Deniz Tek – guitar
Shamus Goble - drums
Andrew McCubbin – guitar
Craig Harnath – bass and backing vocals
MEMORIES REMAIN (P. Ikinger/ R. Peno)
Penny Ikinger – guitar and vocals
Ron Peno – vocals
Craig Harnath - glockenspiel
Dimi Dero – drums
Vinz Guilluy – bass
PIECES OF GLASS (P. Ikinger/ C. Kennedy)
Penny Ikinger – guitar and vocals
Deniz Tek – guitar and backing vocals
Stu Thomas – bass
Clare Moore - drums
Dave Graney – backing vocals
Penny Ikinger, Deniz Tek, Finn Keane and Craig Harnath – hand claps
CITY OF SIN (P. Ikinger)
Penny Ikinger – guitar and vocals
Mark Ferrie – bass
Craig Harnath – percussion programming
Andrew McCubbin – guitar
Malcolm Hill – backing vocals
Recorded and mixed at Hothouse Melbourne, Australia by Craig Harnath assisted by Finn Keane and Jez Giddings, 2009.
Produced by Penny Ikinger and Craig Harnath
Additional recording on “When We Get to the Land” at Atlantis studio, Melbourne, Australia by Dave McCluney ; and on ‘Fragile” at Ponderosa Studio, Melbourne, Australia by Dave Graney & Clare Moore and GLEA studio Montana, USA by Ron Sanchez.
All songs by Penny Ikinger except Into the Slipstream by Penny Ikinger/ Brian Henry Hooper; Pieces of Glass by Penny Ikinger /Caroline Kennedy-McCracken; Memories Remain by Penny Ikinger/Ron Peno.
Mastered by: Tony "Jack the Bear" Mantz, Melbourne Australia
Art work by: Mark Ferrie
Photography by: Rachael Lucas and Antoine Nguyen
This album was sponsored by Arts Victoria's Vic Rocks grogram.
Penny Ikinger is an antipodean rock maestro who
defies easy comparison and definition. With her
iconic
guitar, the Pennycaster, she is a fuzz queen, sonic
chanteuse and primal mistress of dark folk who wows
her audiences at home in Australia and beyond. She has recorded and toured the globe with musicians from the U.S.A, Japan, France and Australia, to great acclaim and instant fandom....more
Mostly written & recorded during lockdown, the latest from Oregon group Corvair is big on early ’80s FM rock hooks & power pop charm. Bandcamp New & Notable Feb 28, 2021
Kaleidoscopic sound from L.A.’s Vinyl Williams, where soft, breathy vocals drift down a neon river of keys, surrounded by sparkling guitars. Bandcamp New & Notable Jun 8, 2020
Throwing rationality to the wind, Belgian experimental band the Guru Guru weave a quirky tapestry of post-punk, mathcore, and kraut rock. Bandcamp New & Notable Jan 29, 2020
Bouncy, urgent, raucous indie rock, anthemic yet unpredictable; this Oxford, U.K. trio sounds defiantly full of life. Bandcamp New & Notable Jan 28, 2020