Ian Jones is the Baltimore singer-songwriter behind Bombardier Jones as well as an award-winning cartoonist. Jones feels “the new songs say: breathe, dance, play, raise hell, shake your blues away” which is a message sure to resonate with listeners during this turbulent time. Let’s see. The opener, Great Idea harks back to a time when everyone wanted to be a British Pop/Rock band, whether that be a 60s band or someone later like Squeeze or Elvis Costello. It’s followed by the soft and gentle Golden Hour with its message of ‘live for the moment’. Summer’s Come is truly American and I’m beginning to think that this guy is an antidote to our ills. It just feels like ‘good guy’ music. I feel that he’s caught out of his time and Let The Light Shine hints at this. He’s amassed a band and a half and they lift us up on this one. There are no big political messages in these songs as such, just a good feeling. There must be bands like The Kinks that have had an influence on Jones. I said the previous track was truly American but this is a guy who continually tips his hat to UK music on this album. The piano led So Many Tears shows that he’s quirky, unconventional and a tunesmith.

He gruffs up his vocal for Stay Wild and, despite what I said earlier, he gets a little political on this bouncy Rock n Roll with Jerry Lee style piano. Unrecorded Time is a documentary on how the common people survive no matter what they are put through. Time, kings and tyrants all pass by. It’s infused with some fine guitar breaks and there is a sense of joy on these songs. The Americana of Touch Of Her Hand is potentially the track of the album. It’s well sung, it’s well played and no matter what goes on, and just a touch of a hand will help. It’s another for this year and it could be your mother, your wife or a nurse. Is God a woman? Take Your Time is unashamedly Country with clean guitar tones and neat female backing vocal as evidenced on other tracks too. Is the title track a message for 2021? A seven minute epic to finish with, it’s dreamy and has that lovely backing vocal again. The piano punctuates the acoustic guitar and laid back slide. “Take another breath and start over” – kind of says it all. Just drift away on the gentle sounds of Bombardier Jones.

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