Rock singer-guitarist Ayron Jones has announced his 12-track debut album CHILD OF THE STATE due May 21st via Big Machine/John Varvatos Records. Pre-order now
Doubling down on his uniqueness with music that harkens back to his beginnings, Jones explains the title, “Having faced the abandonment I did as a child, and how that affected me in life, is really what this album is about. It’s the triumph of overcoming all of that and still being that person. I’m the same kid looking for his parents, that longed for the love and support.”
He continues, “A lot of people have faced adoption and abandonment, but it’s not really talked about as to how that affects people and I thought it was important to be a beacon of hope for those people. To stand for something and prove not everyone has to be a stereotype or statistic.”
CHILD OF THE STATE features his current single ‘Mercy’, the US Top 5 debut ‘Take Me Away’ and his latest effort ‘Spinning Circles’, which weaves together complex issues of addiction and relationships. Co-written alongside Dave Bassett, Jones sings, “You’re the want that I need / Like that cough from good weed. And those lines that you toe / That slow drip down your throat.”
For Jones, the song is autobiographical, explaining “we have all been in relationships that were very unhealthy, where we couldn’t get rid of the person and there was something there that kept drawing us back and forth, going in circles.” Listen to ‘Spinning Circles’ here.
As ‘Mercy’ heads towards the Top 10 at Active Rock Radio in the USA, Jones describes the moment he wrote the haunting lyrics “Got me on my knees / too much smoke, can’t breathe”. He reveals, “I just felt like the line epitomised where we were in America. It was like taking a telescope and giving people a perspective of America from an outsider and what it felt like to experience this time. It was a rough story about what was really going on here in this country—and particularly for me, as a Black man.”
Jones has crafted a stunning visual for the powerful message with a fairly minimalist clip. He siphons off the grunge influence of his Rock-driven track and melds it with the kind of imagery that flashes, then burns into the subconscious.
In a world where ‘woke’ can often be an empty word, Jones holds accountability in a frame-by-frame journey through the raw truth. He also holds his ground, electric guitar as Excalibur, in a church where religion’s own compromises have helped create the mess he sees around him. Watch the video for ‘Mercy’ here.
CHILD OF THE STATE TRACKLISTING
1. Boys From the Puget Sound (Ayron Jones)
2. Mercy (Ayron Jones, Marti Frederiksen, Scott Stevens)
3. Take Me Away (Ayron Jones)
4. Supercharged (Ayron Jones, Nathan Barlowe, Caleb Owens)
5. Free (Ayron Jones, Andrew Fulk)
6. My Love Remains (Ayron Jones)
7. Killing Season (Ayron Jones, Dave Bassett)
8. Spinning Circles (Ayron Jones, Dave Bassett)
9. Baptized in Muddy Waters (Ayron Jones)
10. Hot Friends (Ayron Jones, Tarek Jafar, Paul Meany)
11. Emily (Ayron Jones)
12. Take Your Time (Ayron Jones)
