Jenocide Inject Fun Into Halifax Pop Explosion

Posted on Oct 23rd 2009 1:15PM by Karen Bliss
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Jenocide, a two-piece electro outfit from Halifax, could seemingly be a new sketch on 'Saturday Night Live.' But this geeky girl with the white heart-shaped sunglasses singing over rudimentary synth and drum machine tracks isn't doing this as a joke.

As the pair -- Jen Clarke and Ed Renzi -- played to a small crowd at the Paragon club for the Halifax Pop Explosion music festival Thursday night, the enthusiastic gathering that danced and sang at the foot of the stage hung on Clarke's every word, and sang many of them back.

While her vocals were lacklustre and tuneless, not at all how they sound on the group's EP, 'bikerides.barrettes.bruises,' or recent full-length, 'Machines to Make Us Wet Onstage,' Clarke is fearless, like that hammy kid in school who was always the first to throw on the costume from the theatre trunk and give the improv assignment a go.

Wearing a red skirt and matching top, a black MTV jacket, black leggings and sparkly black runners, she never removed her shades, furthering her kitsch appeal. Kicking off with 'Transparent,' she jumped in the audience numerous times during the half-hour set, engaging the happy throng by singing directly to them. She crouched and skipped through the dancey 'Junglefk (I Want It)' and delivered her best song, 'Slumber Party,' an empowering call to girls to leave if your guy's "acting shady."

Jenocide may not be as inventive, melodic and catchy as Lights nor as risqué and cool as Peaches, but they get by on being fun -- and that seemed to be more than enough for the crowd.