The latest self-titled musical offering by Canvey Island singer/songwriter Darren Jones gets off to a storming start with album opener Lucy Won’t Let On. It is heartfelt and almost vulnerable, with such emotional honesty to the lyrics that you find yourself unwittingly becoming pensive about your own life and situations. I personally love songs like this; connecting with your audience is the difference between writing a good song and writing a great one. The musicianship is as appealing as the lyrics; gentle, dainty and soothing, fitting the mood of the song like a glove.
Same Car follows on seamlessly, raising the mood with a more upbeat tempo and contains a ridiculously catchy chorus. This song contains some interesting samples in places and is a well written, well produced offering. The music feels full and complete throughout and it is clear a lot of detailed thought has gone into what effects certain sounds and techniques will have on the finished article.
The quality does not stop with Nothing About You nor with Jump With You, which is by far one of the stand out tracks on the album; it is bubbly and uplifting and the fast paced blues piano is a treat to listen to.
Falling Short is a simple story of a friend and we can all relate to the emotions and messages conveyed in this song. There are more meaningful thoughts and opinions shared in Whose Going To and it is clear there is some real depth and profundity to this young artist. The music is again pleasant, however there is only one track on this whole album that exceeds three minutes and the relative shortness of the songs is noticeable on these two in particular.
The next two tracks, Holding Back and She Loved Me continue the strength of the album, but it is the penultimate and last songs that really grab my attention. Next to Me is perhaps the most stereotypical ‘beautiful’ of the collection and I really sense an air of Jose Gonzales about the song – and that it is meant in the most positive way possible. The guitar and vocals compliment each other perfectly and it is a cute and sentimental love song. Album closer Cool Down is another blues/classic rock ’n’ roll song, showcasing some funky saxophone, cheesy backing vocals (the good kind) and hand clapping – all sure fire signs of a brilliant feel good track.
I thoroughly enjoyed listening to both this album both as a whole run through and the songs as individuals. Darren has managed to create an ongoing recognisable ambience to his music, but at the same time provide each track with admirable originality. It is recorded to a very high standard and given that Darren recorded and produced it all himself, he has created something he should be even more proud of.
