Double Measures was released in November – and it’s the longest period of time from receipt of an album to finalising a review that I’ve ever taken (sorry Liz, sorry Broken Windows). It’s taken me a while to work out why. Should be easy – the album opens with ‘Johnny Knows The Roads’: nice bit of picking, background coming in, drums arrive, lead guitar spits a semi-gentle riff, Jones starts singing – even before the chorus I’m playing steering wheel percussion on this track about their band member who knows how to dodge the Edinburgh traffic and roadworks. It’s six and half minutes of fun.
A slight digression: There is something slightly outlandish about this band, which I rather like. The website has half a dozen logos (NME, Guardian etc and the comment “None of these publications have noticed Liz Jones, sadly. I think the Guardian listed one of the gigs once…”
They self-deprecatingly describe that opener as “a light-hearted song” – but even if a song about roadworks might not change the world, it’s steering-wheel-thumpingly good. The second track is ‘Takin’ Your Time’ – and I’m smiling at the boppiness of the track to a black and white video which owes a little to Dylan’s Subterranean Homesick Blues film and a lot more to the band’s energy as they dance in the background and grin in the foreground. ‘Broken Lens’ is more acoustic, ‘Lethargy’ more bluesy “Last night’s whisky sittin’ by my bed/I could take a sip or I could change the world instead .. drink all that whisky, feel them blues”. ‘You Can Cry’ is slower, another bottle-emptying song, Jones’s slightly gruff vocal capturing the mood.
The title track continues the theme – “Last night’s whisky was insane/ I was parched, so thirsty now I feel dirty” before going on to rhyme “moanin’ “with “serotonin”. ‘Mother Earth’ has an early 70’s vibe; whilst it’s slower and less raucous than the extended vibes of, say, Stone The Crows or Vinegar Joe, you get the idea – and I realise this is how I’d describe the band to someone who hasn’t yet listened to the album.
‘Bala Man’ is lead guitar and organ smooth, so that every time I try and listen to the lyrics (even when I simultaneously read them off YouTube) I get lost in the music. ‘Can’t Go Home’ is another extended piece that (mentally) I’m listening to in a post-midnight club. The album finishes with ‘Jesus’ and, at the very last, a shortened radio edit of ‘Johnny Knows the Roads’.
…. And in the last few days I’ve realised why it’s been the longest time ever to write a review. What I’ve enjoyed about the album – really enjoyed – is playing it umpteen times over and listening to the tracks – really listening, as I would at a live gig. Liz Jones’ vocal, the interplay with the band, the extended instrumental sections – they play against each other very nicely. The video below gives you a feel for this with a live version of ‘Bala Man’.
It took a while, but Double Measures seems to me to be an album for the headphones and getting lost in the music.
Or, I suspect, live. Keep an eye on the lizjonesmusic website.
Mike Wistow
Artists’ website: https://lizjonesmusic.com/brokenwindows
‘Bala Man’ – live:
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