Jim Jones's previous album - Freight Ships - was recorded in Texas but for the crowdfunded follow up release he's stayed close to his North Devonshire roots.
Crisply produced by friend and label mate Peter Bruntnell, it features his long time musical partner David Little and drummer Mike Reed. There are also guest appearances from Emily Barker and Son Volt’s Dave Boquist on The Long Goodbye.
The choice of recording studio is a logical one since the coastal location is obviously one of the key influences to his song writing. The Ocean And The Sky is the most obvious example of this. This, like many of the tracks, expresses a pressing need for time and space to collect his thoughts-"sometimes I just need to switch off".
The tension in Jones's songs lies primarily in the realisation that there is a fine line between sanity and madness or sinking and swimming. A constant preoccupation is the fear of not being able to keep body and soul together.
The need to "stay afloat" was how he expressed this anxiety on the title track of “Freight Ships” and the same metaphor occurs in Fear Of Drowning. It is perhaps no coincidence, therefore, that the album takes its title from a line in this song.
Many songs have the theme of facing, rather than ignoring, his (our?) personal demons. Night Full Of Ghosts expresses this most directly in lines like: "I cannot run from what torments me the most".
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Far from being superficial, there is a depth to his songs which repays repeated listening. For example, the lovelorn lament of Little Blackbird at first seems so twee it's easy to overlook the twist in the tale in that the "sweet orchestra" of the bird's song is apparently heard from a prison cell ("the bars of my window").
One of the possible causes of the recurring feelings of anguish is suggested by Absent Father which is either a bold autobiographical song or a fine imitation of one. This tells of a rage towards an errant father and of a painful adolescence in which "I fought just about everything that represented you".
Here, the feelings of anger and resentment are very real but as with the other painful memories, Jones is keen to lay these 'ghosts' to rest and move on.
In contrast to the shallow 'why me?' songs of teenage angst, Jim Jones favours mature reflections on what it means to be human.
Finding some idea of beauty in the chaos is what drives him and its a quality that gives this album a genuine sense of depth and wisdom.
Small Town Jones's website
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