Today, the New York-based artist The Bones of J.R. Jones released “The Good Life” from Slow Lightning, his first studio album in more than 5 years that will be released on October 13 via Tone Tree Music. The new single arrives alongside a moving official video where actress Maggie McDowell does what we all dream of: ditch the chaos of your day job, light a cigarette and hit the open road in search of fireworks, open fields, amusement parks and just a moment of pure joy. Atwood Magazine proclaimed, “‘The Good Life’ radiates with smoldering folk rock passion and perseverance as The Bones of J.R. Jones echoes our endless individual pursuit in song."
Watch the official video for “The Good Life” via YouTube.
About the new song, Jonathon Linaberry (best known by his stage name The Bones of J.R. Jones) explains:,“'The Good Life' was definitely a product of me trying to break through and learn to enjoy the moment I am in. Even if that moment is hard. Even if it is frustrating. Even if it feels like treading water, which in my mind is a synonym for death. I suppose I wrote ‘The Good Life’ to help remind myself of that. That we can always find a way out.”
“I wanted this video to walk the line of joy and heaviness of life. I wanted it to feel real enough so that we could all relate to that moment where Maggie leaves it all behind (even though we all, always come back). I think that's one of the beautifully sad things about what we do to ourselves as humans. We are gluttons for punishment. We torture ourselves because we don't think there is any other way to move forward. The original concept had Maggie raising a little more hell. Fist fights. Stealing cigarettes. Breaking windows. But I think if we went down that path it would be tough to find the joy in what ultimately is a hopeful song,” he adds about the video.
“The Good Life” follows the release of “The Flood” and the album’s propulsive debut single “Heaven Help Me,” which was covered by Magnet Magazine and has already been streamed more than 100,000 times. The Bones of J.R. Jones will hit the road for a US and European tour, with an album release show in his home state of New York at Mercury Lounge on October 13. Find a full list of tour dates below or visit his website.
As the title suggests, the 12-track collection Slow Lightning is raw and visceral, pulsating with an understated electrical current that flows through his cinematic brand of roots noir. The songs grapple with doubt and desire in the face of nature and fate, and frequent collaborator Kiyoshi Matsuyama’s production is eerily hypnotic to match, with haunting synthesizers, vintage drum machines, and ghostly guitars.
“I felt very lost at the time I was writing these songs,” Linaberry confesses. “It was a moment of deep crisis and anxiety, but I knew the only way out was through, which meant I just had to bring myself to the table every day and put in the work.”
The Bones of J.R. Jones is a New York-based songwriter, storyteller, visual artist and “one man band who can hold an audience rapt, rendering the cacophony of a stage full of musicians utterly unnecessary” (Noisey). His 2021 EP, A Celebration, was praised by American Songwriter, Under The Radar and Atwood Magazine, who called it “an intimate, visceral outpouring of vulnerability, reflection, connection, and wonder.”
Slow Lightning tracklist:
1) Animals
2) Slow Lightning
3) The Good Life
4) Blue Skies
5) Preservation
6) The Flood
7) Heaven Help Me
8) I Ain’t Through With You
9) Love Is A Sickness
10) I’ll See You In Hell
11) Salt Sour Sweet
12) Baby Run
Tour Dates:
9/2 – Fairmont, WV – Palatine Park
9/7 – Buffalo, NY – Ninth Ward
9/8 – Pittsburgh, PA – Club Cafe
9/9 – Cleveland, OH – Grog Shop
9/10 – Ann Arbor, MI – The Ark
9/12 – Indianapolis, IN – Hi-Fi
9/13 – Chicago, IL – Schubas
9/14 – Columbus, OH – Basement
9/15 – Syracuse, NY – Funk N' Waffles
10/12 – Washington, DC – DC9
10/13 – New York, NY – Mercury Lounge
10/14 – Woodstock, NY – Levon Helm Studios
10/16 – Richmond, VA – Camel
10/17 – Charlottesville, VA – The Southern Cafe and Music Hall
10/18 – Raleigh, NC – The Pour House Music Hall & Record Shop
10/19 – Charlotte, NC – Evening Muse
10/20 – Decatur, GA – Eddie's Attic
10/21 – Nashville, TN – The Basement
11/8 – Amsterdam, NL – Paradiso
11/9 – Luxembourg, LUX – Gudde Wellen
11/10 – Paris, FR – No.Pi
11/11 – London, UK – Omeara
11/14 – Cologne, DE – Jaki
11/15 – Hamburg, DE – Uebel & Gefährlich
11/16 – Berlin, DE – Kantine Berghain
11/17 – Leipzig, DE – Naumanns
11/18 –Frankfurt, DE – Brotfabrik
