The Bones of J.R. Jones - Radio Waves (2025) [Hi-Res]

Americana with an electronic bent in a fond reflection on the simplicity of youth.

Jonathon Linaberry grew up obsessed by the radio. Like many of a certain vintage, he recalls waiting by the radio, finger poised, ready to record onto that good old, hopelessly flawed yet memorable, nonetheless, cassette tape. On his sixth album under the guise of The Bones of J.R. Jones, the aptly titled “Radio Waves’, Linaberry draws on that fondly remembered era for inspiration with songs steeped in the sounds and stories of his own coming of age.

Linaberry explains, “A lot of these songs started on a drum machine, which was very intentional. I wanted to focus on simplicity, on stripping tracks back to their most essential elements so that the melody and the vocals could shine.” Those electronic origins are clearly evident throughout what is, for the most part, an excellent album that allows Linaberry’s glorious vocals to shine amidst a mix of acoustic and synth-driven backing. The songs work best when those drum machines are employed in a more restrained and subtle fashion. ‘Waste Some Time’ and ‘Start Again’ are fine examples of this, while others like ‘Hills’ eschew the electronics for simple acoustic accompaniment.

Just occasionally, though, that programming is a detraction that threatens to overwhelm. ‘Savages’, revelling as it does in the reckless abandon of young adulthood, begins with an insistent drum track that never lets up. In the same vein, ‘Catching You’ wonders what we were ever trying to prove with all the debaucherous nights and bad decisions of youth. Whilst also employing an unrelenting beat, the acoustic backing here distracts the ear and softens the overall sound.

That fine line between subtlety and restraint and overwhelming and dominating a song is one that producer Robbie Lacktritz treads, for the most part, very well. If some tracks fall the other side of that line, then it must be said that these are in the minority.

Linaberry is interested in understanding the feelings and experiences that made us who we are: the passion and the hunger, the faults and the failures, the hopes and the fears. “Radio Waves” addresses these reflections in a manner that is, at times, very americana. The album is, in the main, insistent yet understated. It is an album that has much going for it but one that may divide opinion and will ultimately be judged on the listener’s love, or otherwise, of electronic backing. ~ Peter Churchill