Fact #176416

Jones The Synth, thankfully, has outlasted the barmy barnet that made him hard to take as seriously as he deserved in the 80s. Eschewing the expectations of his original fan base, he has allowed himself to age with grace. The overwhelming sound here is piano, voices and string quartet, and Jones' lyrics focus unerringly on the trials and triumphs of daily life. The Celtic fiddles on poignant opener Straight Ahead might set Van The Man alerts flashing but, fear not, Jones still sounds like he gives a damn, and his use of the string section throughout this album is exemplary. The soul whoop of Collective Heartbeat and the bittersweet heartache of Soon You'll Go provide just two of several high points in an album which is not just the most consistently fulfilling of his career, but also the most promising. (Johnny Black)
(Source : Review first appeared in Mojo magazine)