Jenn Lindsay's latest CD (on No Evil Star Records) lives up to its title in more ways than one.

"Bring it On" is edgy, intricate, sometimes strange and controversial and always a showcase for some excellent lyrics.

Jenn is a 23-year-old San Diego native who is just starting to make her mark on the singer-songwriter scene. Comfortable with her guitar, Jenn seems to think out loud as she composes, drawing out her words with her fluid voice that has just a touch of nasality to it.

The 16 tunes are in some ways eclectic, ranging from the odd cadence and melody of the opener "Things I Clutch" to the finger-style/strumming combo of "Often Very Small" to the rapid-fire rant of "Candles." Always acoustic. Always assertive. Absolutely.

She's not afraid to "rock the boat" with her gutsy lyrics. The title track:

"Would I ruin a good thing if I start to lead the heat. If I pushed to the lip of the precipice at slow deep speed You're the only girl I've ever met that I have not figured out just yet And I wanna know if after the fall I'm dead on the ground or just wet So I say: Bring it on, and on and on, on and on and on..."

In "Hello My Sweet," eating disorders are the topic:

"There's a face inside every block of stone waiting for the chisel that makes it known and a thin girl inside every fat girls home waiting for the chisel that slims down to the bone...Hello my sweet, little sweet. With you I'm safe from all wanting..."

Her lyrics are also very strong and powerful on "Cataract": "Imagine a group of women convening to say no

Imagine them filling the basement, then the third floor, then the road Imagine no spilling over to all the women who don't imagine walking strong and saying it to all the men we know Imagine knowing that strength is not the same as violence Knowing that self-reliance is the same thing as defiance."

Jenn, though sometimes gentle, often rips into these tunes as though on a mission. She's definitely unafraid -- to write songs, to get her message(s) "out there" - that's for sure.

- Les Reynolds