GLASGOW SINGER-SONGWRITER FINALLY STEPS OUT OF THE SHADOWS

HER silvery, haunting vocals, violin and guitar have added an ethereal grace to the recordings and live shows of Scotland's finest from Snow Patrol to Arab Strap, via Idlewild, Union of Knives, the Reindeer Section and her own band, Eva.

But now, with her debut under the banner of Strike The Colours released next week, Glasgow songsmith Jenny Reeve is captaining her own ship into uncharted waters, launching her career as a solo artist in her own right.

Even a brief listen to the six songs on mini-album The Face That Sunk A Thousand Ships, which comes out on Monday, leaves no doubt to anyone familiar with her previous work that it is pure Jenny, but she went with the name Strike The Colours to acknowledge the input of her collaborators.

This inspirational crew includes David McAuley, Terra Diablo's guitarist and songwriter, Neil Payne and Gareth Russell - both formerly of Lewisian pop-rockers Astrid and now playing with Texas and Idlewild, respectively.

Also on there are Sarah Roberts and Denis Sheridan, old cohorts of the much-respected five-piece Eva, whom Jenny co-fronted until tensions led to their split in 2004, and Gordon Turner, ex-Terra Diablo sticksman who has been playing with bands on the Glasgow scene as a session drummer.

And it should finally lay to rest the eternal "sidekick" billing that has seen her branded "Jenny from Eva", "The Reindeer Section's Jenny Reeve" or "guest vocalist" for so long that she has - unwillingly - attained the status of "Glasgow indie veteran".

She chuckles indignantly: "I don't even know what that means! I'm not sitting here with a pipe and slippers quite yet! I suppose there is a scene in Glasgow that goes on, and I'm part of it on a day-to-day basis, but I'm just a musician playing music with my friends."

The mini-album was recorded with producers Chris Gordon and Marcus MacKay, as well as Dave McAuley, who also mastered it at the Firebox Studio in Springburn, a community facility where he and Jenny both work with aspiring young musicians.

She concedes that recording piecemeal when the other musicians were available meant it took longer than going into a studio for one block of work.

But she feels the gradual, measured pace allowed her to keep in control and get the most out of every song, whether it was recorded at Glasgow's plush Park Lane studios with uber-producer Gordon or on a simple eight-track set-up in her own bedroom.

"Now that the release is nigh everything seems to be going really fast.

But I deliberately took my time with it and went quite slowly, chose my songs carefully and my words carefully.

"I'm not in a hurry, I'm quite happy just to let things go at a natural pace, and it's been nice, it hasn't felt stilted or rushed."

Jenny has been writing solo material since Eva disbanded in 2004.

"I was already writing songs that weren't fitting with Eva, so I was keeping them to one side with the thought that I would do them myself.

"But it has taken this long to find my feet with it."

The reason for that was, she admits, "mostly a confidence issue".

She says: "I wasn't sure what I was trying to say, I didn't know what I wanted to do, I didn't know if I could do it.

"I kept trying to put other musicians in front of me, building constructs that weren't necessary. It has taken until this year to realise that it wasn't necessary."

But, especially with Davey and Gareth as "advisory figures," giving her the confidence to set-sail with her own material, she has finally found her feet.

And after a six-week tour with Malcolm Middleton, playing support, then joining him on stage as part of his band - she feels she has now found her own voice as a solo performer.

"Although this is a full-band record, I can do the songs on my own, and it took going on tour for six weeks with Malc to realise that is possible," she says.

"People like him have been supportive, and I've learned a lot from watching him leave a band and put his own stuff out there."

At the same time, Strike The Colours worked on the innovative indie rock/Scot-lit crossover album Ballads of the Book, recording the track Message In A Bottle with lyrics by prolific Gaelic poet Rody Gorman.

The track echoes the nautical theme which has imbued Strike The Colours' work, from the band's name (which means to haul down a ship's flag as a sign of surrender), to the album title to its evocative artwork by Glasgow artist Cherylene Dyer.

She's got a six-foot painting of my face on her wall at the moment, it's quite off-putting!" Jenny laughs. "But she is a fantastic artist."

Restless as the ocean, Jenny won't be coasting now that the first phase of Strike The Colours has been committed to CD.

First, there is the Scottish tour, which includes a launch night for the album at Nice N Sleazy on June 23.

Then she will feature as guest vocalist on the new single from Malcolm Middleton, Fight Like The Night, which comes out on July 2, and will join him at T In The Park Pet Sounds Arena.

But, now she has the hunger for recording, releasing and touring with Strike The Colours, thoughts are turning to the possibilities recording a full album might hold.

Having experience in the past of being managed by a big-league London firm, however, she is in no rush to return.

She says: "Sometimes when you are in a situation where you are being managed or on a label, other people have an opinion because they have an investment in what you're doing, and unless you are strong, certain rights are taken away from you. I've been bitten by that experience.

"I would have to think twice about it. To me it's just important that I am able to put records out, let a small number of people hear them. I'd be loathe to give that up, having somebody else say 'that's rubbish.' "I do have balance in my life that I'm happy with. My motives for doing this aren't so that I can stand on stage in front of thousands of people - I'm naturally quite a shy performer, though I'm getting round that.

"All I know is I'm trying to be as honest as I can in my songs, for me it's an exploration of a certain idea. And if I end up old and grey, if I get that far, and I'm still doing this, I'll be happy."

n Strike The Colours, album launch party, June 23, Nice N Sleazy, doors 8.30pm, tickets £4. For details visit www.myspace.com/strikethecolours