Modern blues would be an understatement for Laurence Jones' new work. No longer a prodigy child but a young guitar player with his own sound and ambitions he has chosen the hard way. Instead of trying to 'modernize' the blues sound having tradition as his safety net he chooses to move into the vast territory of the modern melodic rock sound with blues elements in it. A road adventurous and demanding as the purists and the revivalists are the most stubborn to be converted. Jones on the other hand has nothing to lose and a lot to learn. His sound is fresh, contemporary and appealing to the younger generation along with those who like their blues and rock, reminding of the past but not imitating.
While in the last years the spotlight is more on the female blues players Taylor, Fuchs, Fisher or more Southern oriented players like Marcus King, Jones as Archer takes a left turn and engage himself in to a more fresh and unbiased audience for whom been a guitar "God" and blues over means almost nothing compared to a good melody and a strong hookline. Does he achieve it? The result is yours but in my humble opinion he delivers an album far beyond the expected , colorful, demanding and enriched with all these elements that made artists like Bryan Adams still in demand after all these years.
7,5
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