Jawbone

I have long been a fan of Marcus Bonfanti and, through the Boom Band, Paddy Milner.
This album pitches two of London’s greatest talents together and adds to the mix the superb bass playing of Rex Horan and drums of Evan Jenkins.

In many respects this is classic British Blues but the music has so many original elements that Jawbone stand out as a band of unique character.

The album kicks off with ‘Leave No Traces’, a nice fat Blues, rolling swagger in the rhythm and vocals shared between Milner and Bonfanti. A hint of horns and Milner’s keys in the mix, a grand chorus line of “Heaven doesn’t want me and the Devil doesn’t know who I am”. It is a number that really grabs the ear and gets the album off to a huge smile.

The sparkling rhythms continue on ‘Get What You Deserve’ with Milner’s organ and piano really getting to the heart of the song. I remember from seeing the band live in September that they are great fans of The Band and there is definitely a feeling of that great outfit in the sound here.

‘When Your Gun Is Loaded’ follows the same vein and I would have to say that this is one of few bands who can play this form of loose Blues with anything approaching the precision and soul that The Band were able to bring.

One of my favourite tracks here is the epic ‘Bet On Yesterday’. There is a western feel to the song but the slow build and muted horns create a feeling of unease. The drum sound really captures the theme of the song – looking at an old market trader and Milner’s wondering how he got to that point in his long life. In other hands it may well be a number to hang solos and individual skills on but here there is no showboating, just superb performance that serves the song.

There isn’t anything here that isn’t strong, nothing that focuses on any individual band member and overall it has grown on me as one of the best debuts I have heard this year.