"... Nothing pretentious or fake, just raw emotion and an endearing look at the world that few of us slow down enough to enjoy... Perhaps Jean’s unapologetic approach to music is her secret. Too many artists back themselves into their performances in hopes that you will hear something you like. Synodinos charges ahead with the confidence that you will connect with something she has to say... she truly holds her own next to any national act with this performance... This album is Jean Synodinos’ best work to date, out-shining her first two releases, if that’s possible."
"For women, every day is a tightrope walk of actions both micro and macro in scale, the mundane mingling gloriously with the transcendent. This delicious tension is at the root of local singer-songwriter Jean Synodinos' third album, Girls, Good & Otherwise. Synodinos juxtaposes day-to-day concerns with much larger ones of contentment, partnership, and home, assembling an impressive cadre of supporting local musicians to back up her musings on what it means to "Be a Good Girl," including her husband, guitarist Charles Rieser, as well as Redd Volkaert... [and] the ace in the hole is Synodinos' velvety voice, which encapsulates both the beauty and pain of being a girl, Good & Otherwise."
"After spinning Girls, Good & Otherwise a few times we can't help but wonder how long it might be before Jean Synodinos receives the recognition she so rightly deserves. This talented lady writes and records music that could be easily be appreciated by millions upon millions of listeners...if they could only hear her songs. Jean makes music that is timeless and classic. There are no particular instruments to date the music...no irritating attempts to be artsy or weird...and no grating (c)rap-hop getting in the way of good solid pop. Eleven classy tracks here and they're all keepers."
"Beg, borrow, or buy [Jean's] album Girls, Good & Otherwise. It’s beautiful and jazzy and sexy and bold like the women she writes about."
[Review of "Girls, Good & Otherwise" and the CD release show on 11/2/11]. "By the time I got to Momo’s tonight, there was already excitement in the air. I had just missed Deann Renee and her hot band, but got there in time for the Jean Synodinos CD release show... [along with] a zillion other musicians waiting with bated breath for the sultry song stylist to start. Let me just say this was one ROCKIN’ set... This is one amazing woman, gritty and soulful yet down to earth as you can get.
Jean’s new record! From the first acoustic notes of 'You’re Only Human,' to the swingin’ 'Five Things To Do Today,' the songs just roll off, each one unique and sassy. But the record truly begins to soar with 'Full Moon Eclipsing,' juxtaposing Jean’s power pipes against Red Young’s orgasmic organ. This is a radio hit if there ever was one — Charlie’s saucy guitar chops and Bruce’s nasty bass and my pal Rob’s on-time drums make this a very tasty cut indeed. Then another balls to the wall ballad – 'Enough Is Enough,' a New Year’s resolution song about Grace’s liquor store and car wash. 'Red Vase' is an even slower shuffle that reminds me a LOT of Sarah Vaughan (and why not?). OMG, 'Happiness Factor' says that 'good girls aren’t perfect, bad boys aren’t cool, but no one need ever atone…' and starts with a sultry sax (Sosa) — in short, another pure jazz classic. I could go on — but suffice it to say, we are ready for some more juicy meat and red red wine … Girls .. Good and Otherwise … yum/purr!
[Review of Saxon Pub band show and new CD] "Kids, this is how you do it. I've decided that performance is not important in the Live Music Capitol of the World. If it was, there would be a whole lot of headliners taking lessons from Jean Synodinos.... Hot show. Very hot show. Leave the Lone Star tallboys with the babysitter. You need a straight up shot of Lagavulin for Jean Synodinos [who] rolled out songs from her forthcoming album, Girls, Good & Otherwise. I've had a preview [of the CD] for some time, and this is a complex collection of songs that speak to the emotional disconnect of today's Western woman.
'Somewhere, the successful woman feel into a pattern of complacency and unhappiness that made the sexual spunk and peer of who we are as females simply fall down on our backs and take it. Not Jean Synodinos. If the album doesn't convince you, then her live performance will... I'll admit that there were times I found myself sitting tense, perfectly still and sans breath. Nobody can tell a story with song like Jean.
"I highly recommend getting on her email list and getting yourself to a live show. Typically she plays solo. However, her guitar work makes her singer/songwriter gig much more powerful than most girls with a guitar. It's that low groove that never disappears. Band or no band, treat yourself. See and hear Austin music in a whole new and sexily grown up kind of way."
"... there's no mistaking that marvelous voice, but if that alone gives her a decided advantage in the massed ranks of Austin's Girls With Guitars, she piles it on by writing songs that are extraordinarily inventive and distinctive... she writes poetry that can be sung."
“... there's nothing like that smoky voice with just a hint of grit like yeah, she's been there and done it and done it. And hot damn, those songs! There's nothing predictable about these tasty songs of love and regret with the occasional odd character, fueled with her rhythmic acoustic guitar and rootsy arrangements. It's not folk. Exactly. More like sultry alt-country, low on the twang please, with pop and jazz too."
"Tiny gestures like the brush of a finger or side-glance can speak volumes. Jean Synodinos is adept at turning such gestures, and even mundane moments like waiting at a traffic signal, into philosophical songs that incorporate jazz touches along with a tough blend of organic folk and blues rock. Her lilting inflection and Charles Rieser’s tasty guitar... are a standout."
"As fine a vocalist as she is a composer, Synodinos' Lucky is among the most overlooked albums of recent memory."
"Few can genre-skate well, but perhaps that's because few have a voice as amazingly versatile as Jean Synodinos'. Certainly, the muses have visited Synodinos, and I'm not so convinced she's not one herself. I'm so blown away [that] I hardly know which to acknowledge as more compelling -- Synodinos' voice or her songwriting capabilities, or stronghold on guitar playing. Her experience and confidence shines through without a shadow in all three, yet the natural juxtaposition her vocal talents provide seem to prevail. Fresh but down-home-dirty. Pure but worldly. Bottomless but downly-light. With that cannon in her pocket, Synodinos could sing any piece passable as music and cast it into greatness. More so than any other artist I've ever witnessed, Synodinos' songwriting is not only a perfect counterpart for her voice, but also impressivley reflects her wit, intelligence and whims. A woman to be reckoned with."
"... a writer of humor, grit and grace, with a smoky mezzo well-suited to her elliptical storytelling lyrics."
"Breathe showcases her ability to make a song swing between Dorothy Parker’s wit and a well written short story. Synodinos definitely has breadth. Breathe... offers up little treasures with each spin, and once again begs the question, 'why is Jean Synodinos not a household name in the greater folk world?' All I can figure is the white boys in charge are damn intimidated by this great artist."
"There is something charismatic about Synodinos. There is a vulnerability in her voice that will attract even the casual listener. You have the feeling you are being sung to and not sung at like so many card carrying female acoustic guitar players out there."
"Jean's first bit of accolades have to be about her dynamic and gorgeous vocals. Then and only then can you begin to discuss the rest of the album's polished portions... this isn't just a critic's wet dream, this is substance that everyone can get a handle on."
"...her deceptively angelic voice infuses her music with a soulful, sardonic edge."
"Synodinos is amazing... She has some excellent moves as a songwriter and is an accomplished acoustic guitarist, but her big gun, and I mean .50 caliber made by badass Hellenes, is the marvel that is her voice."
