KELLY JONES
Inevitable Incredible (Ignition)
Inevitable Incredible: In which Cwmaman’s favourite son Kelly Jones abandons the middle-of-the-road guitar rock which made his fortune, decamps to the Norwegian wilds and makes a record of melancholy, middle-of-the-road piano ballads instead. Right from the start, Kelly lets you know he’s in Mature Artist Mode. The title track kicks things off with the sound of crashing waves (always a red flag) and the kind of sombre notes that make you think there might not be any rock bangers coming any time soon.
“It feels like time is running out on me,” he sings on Time’s Running Away, sounding suitably reflective and thoughtful for a man entering his sixth decade. Polite ripples of electronic noise pop up here and there across Inevitable Incredible, the odd string section too, but it’s all too polished to truly convince as one middle-aged, world-weary song makes way for another. Whatever the Norwegian word for “weltschmertz” is, that’s the aim of this Kelly Jones record – but, despite the Scandinavian setting, there’s no ice in these songs’ veins.
words PAUL JENKINS
