A Brokeheart Pro – The Kitten Next Door (2006)
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A Brokeheart Pro - The Kitten Next Door

Review by Jamie Lyon
As someone once said, “Life is like a box of chocolates Á¢€” you never know what you’re gonna get until you bite in,” or something like that. The same can be said for indie music; some’s good, and some’s just scary. Fortunately, listening to A Brokeheart Pro’s The Kitten Next Door is like reaching in and grabbing a surprising and wonderful chocolate that you can’t help but want more of.

A Brokeheart Pro is actually Jeannette Kantzalis, formerly of the Chubbies, who seem to have put out nine discs’ worth of music on the Sympathy for the Record Industry label. The sound is what I imagine Ellen Foley would sound like if she was singing alt/country into an eight-track recorder: Powerful, emotional, playful and deeply personal. In all honesty, the more I listen to it, the more I like it, and I keep thinking I’m listening to something truly special. (Unfortunately, in a world full of Avrils and Xtinas, we all know that the truly good music is rarely heard.)

Standout tracks include the title track (download) and “Dark Red and Loud” (download), as well as an excellent cover of Ryan Adams’ “Hard Way to Fall.” (Actually, they’re all pretty damned good Á¢€” these are just great places to start.)

Get on over to her MySpace page, then order yourself up a copy and get in on A Brokeheart Pro before some smart record company (hello, Bloodshot?) gets their heads out of their holes and signs her up. Á¢€”JL

Listening Booth, Music

About the Author

Jeff Giles

Jeff Giles is the founder and editor-in-chief of Popdose and Dadnabbit, as well as an entertainment writer whose work can be seen at Rotten Tomatoes and a number of other sites. Hey, why not follow him at Twitter while you're at it?

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