For his sixth studio album, the Bones Of J.R. Jones’ Jonathon Linaberry left his home in New York’s Catskill Mountains and headed to Toronto for a fruitful run-in with Grammy-nominated producer Robbie Lackritz (Feist, Bahamas, Zeus). Its title and themes inspired by a youthful infatuation with the FM dial, Radio Waves is Linaberry’s most emotionally direct and sonically nuanced effort to date. It’s also his most accessible, finding its resonant sweet spot where the acoustic and the synthetic intersect—though never at that expense of the blues/roots foundations that define his sound.
An intoxicating first dip into Radio Waves, “Savages” is a warmly hypnotic, achingly nostalgic reassessment of misspent youth with a distinct late-’80s Springsteen vibe.
“It’s about finding yourself out all night in the July heat under the city’s street lights or at a house party, getting lost with your friends and being completely enveloped in that moment,” says Linaberry. “It’s surrendering to that feeling—letting yourself feel wrecked, gut-punched, inspired and bleary-eyed. It’s about wanting to disappear right then and there, in the hopes that time will stop.”
Radio Waves is due June 20 via Tone Tree Music. For now, we’re proud to premiere the Bones Of J.R. Jones’ “Savages.”
—Hobart Rowland
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