 |
OK
Jones By: Meredith Vacek (Lawrencerock.com Editor) |
|
|
Tales of life in
a college town told by an honest and talented student fill the ballads
of “Self-help Songs,” Richard Gintowt’s first solo project
under the name Ok Jones. Astute local music fans might recognize Richard
as the drummer from the indie pop band Ghosty. Clear, flawlessly-picked
acoustic guitar lays the foundation for “Self-help Songs,”
and is accompanied by Richard’s folky singing about life, loss,
love, and a little town called Lawrence. It was self-recorded and self-written,
with only minimal help from others. At times this becomes apparent when
the vocals sound hushed and far-away, or the guitar seems almost too
unpolished. Not that this fact in any way renders the album unlistenable.
The perhaps primitive recording process doesn’t keep the musician’s
instrumental skill and creativity from shining through. Never at a loss
for insightful and self-disclosing lyrics, Richard is a prolific writer
with fifteen songs on his album, each telling its own story in its own
way. And often teaching a lesson too. The “self-help” can
be found in the titles of the songs, each one a “step” towards
wellness. The titles aren’t jokes, either. The album is a journey
through the trials and errors and lessons learned in one person’s
life. Richard’s that is. Essentially, the nugget of wisdom discovered
in each song is summed up in its title. I had a hard time
trying to decide which tracks struck me the most, and eventually concluded
that I couldn’t narrow it down to just a few. “Step 1: Stop
Doubting Yourself,” is about college life and, strangely enough,
self-doubt. For a student, it is easy to relate to Richard/Jones immediately
through the song, what with its familiar situations and familiar settings.
I have to wonder if the lyrics “down the hill, and under the willow
tree” refer to the willows at Potter’s Lake. “Step 4:
Have Confidence in Yourself” is fast-paced, clever, and full of
that backwoods twang that Jones seems to pick up so easily. The lyrics
are countered by harmonica melodies, both alongside quick guitar strumming
and picking. “Step 5: Know Your Roots” is very soft and gentle,
but stood out to me because of the fun clanky beat, perhaps made with
spoons, in the second verse. Probably the catchiest song on the album
is “Step 6: Have a Little Faith,” with a very singable refrain
and a tambourine keeping beat, written from the perspective of Jones
trying to talk a girl into not leaving him. (“Don’t give up
on me just yet/ Because I’m all ass backwards and I’m totally
confused.”) My favorite self-help song is “Step 9: See Something
You’ve Never Seen Before.” Lyrically the simplest song on
the album, it is the arrangement and its straight-forwardness that make
it impressive. The refrain is sung in rounds, and is broken up by secondary
lyrics that sound as though they’re coming from a completely different
song. It feels as though it could be a traditional midwestern folk tune
from the nineteenth century with snapping keeping beat and an unassuming
guitar melody. The final refrain is sung as a remarkable a cappella
and refuses to leave my head after I listen to it. As far as lyrics
that really struck me and made me sit and think, “Step 10: Quite
Your Bad Habits” is the winner. Sounding more like a traditional
country song, it speaks very poetically and emotionally about regret
and trying to control sexual desire. The lyrics certainly appeal to
the dark side of me. (“I’ll get drunk on the thought of waking
up right/ Knowing last night the black dog bowed down.”) It ends
with messy, quickly strummed guitar and unintelligible half-yelled lyrics
that I have to say brings to my mind some of the more unrestrained moments
on Bright Eyes’ “Every Day and Every Night” EP. A thing
I like. Overall, the simplicity of the music and the clarity of the lyrics are immediately catching. No frills dress up this very personal and perceptive work, but it doesn’t need any. It is the very bareness of it which moves the listener to feel they can relate so fully to Richard’s commentary on his own humanity. I highly recommend this album, and anyone interested in more information should contact info@lawrencerock.com. Meredith Vacek
|
||