Justin Jones - The Little Fox EP
Wednesday, July 28, 2010 at 11:41AM 
When Justin Jones sings "I could use another friend, I could us another brand new start" you get a sense of the mix of resignation, quiet desperation and, ultimately, the hope of redemption that seeps through the five new songs on his fine new EP The Little Fox (September 14, 9:30 Records). The recent rough and tumble years that have taken Jones through triumph and addiction, from sleeping on friends couches to critical acclaim, a home, wife and daughter are worn proudly like so many battle scars. Even before the first note is heard on songs like "The Gutter", "Daylight" and "Razor Blades" you simply sense that Jones' lyrical reflections and tough life lessons will pull no punches. And you'd be right.
That direct, clear-eyed approach can be heard in the Virginia native's rootsy folk and country rock, the majesty of a three-chord confessional that ebbs and flows through pin-drop intimacy and blustery, ragged-riffed anthems, sometimes within the same song. With a style that recalls the dramatic toughness of Ryan Adams and the wide-open Americana of early Wilco, Jones and his band The Driving Rain can still summon strutting, Seger/Petty/Springsteen arena-sized power on songs such "Razor Blades" or bring a muscular roadhouse kick to the the EP's charged title track.
Justin Jones - "Little Fox" (from The Little Fox EP)
Justin Jones - "Razor Blades" (from The Little Fox EP)
Reader Comments (1)
This is the 4th CD of Justin's that I own. I wear them out playing them over and over.
Then I sit down and learn them on my guitar and sing them over and over! They are GOLDEN! BRILLIANT MATE! I am waiting for CD # 5. Bring it!!!