Jennifer O'Connor and Juniper Tar

An oddity on Matador Records’ iconoclastic roster of rabble-rousers and trendsetters, Jennifer O’Connor plays straightforward folk with faint rustic undertones, not unlike thousands of other singer-songwriters who never gig beyond their local coffeehouses. What she lacks in flair, though, she makes up for in songwriting polish. Her latest, Here With Me, assembles a dozen grippingly brief songs that breathe life into even the most exhausted sentiments. O’Connor last played Milwaukee in July at a gig that cemented her affection for the city. “Previously, I’d been to this fine city only once to play and had such a great time,” she wrote on her blog. “I wondered if it was a fluke. I now know it was no flukeMilwaukee may just be the finest place on Earth.” She returns tonight for a 10 p.m. show at the Y-Not II with Juniper Tar.