Uncooked, reflective, and achingly human, The Bones of J.R. Jones’ intimate sixth album ‘Radio Waves’ glows with the sparkle of dim summer time avenue lights and the hum of reminiscence in movement. In dialog with Atwood Journal, Jonathon Linaberry displays on nostalgia, impermanence, and the quiet act of tuning again into your self.
‘Radio Waves’ – The Bones of J.R. Jones
These songs reside within the night time – the limitless type, the place you get in your automotive simply to drive and take heed to music.
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A haunting glow runs by way of Radio Waves – one which glints between nostalgia and now; between headlights mirrored in moist pavement and the fading pulse of dim summer time avenue lights.
For Jonathon Linaberry, the inventive power behind The Bones of J.R. Jones, that glow grew to become a compass. His sixth studio album is steeped in reminiscence, movement, and a longing to rediscover the joys of connection – the sort he as soon as felt as a child with a cassette deck, ready for his favourite tune to hit the radio. There’s nothing polished or nostalgic about this sort of wanting again; it’s messy, magnetic, and achingly human. As Linaberry himself reminds us, “All you must do is tune in.”
I’m simply feelin shameless
Strung out on a wire
Its been neon indicators and cigarettes
Haven’t seen the day in awhile
TV is shouting holy males
Telling me I’m damned
I don’t concentrate
They don’t know
The heaven I had
– “Shameless,” The Bones of J.R. Jones
Launched June 20th through Tone Tree Music, Radio Waves marks a daring evolution for The Bones of J.R. Jones – each sonically and spiritually. Produced by GRAMMY-winner Robbie Lackritz (Feist, Bahamas) and recorded in Toronto, the album finds Linaberry working with an outdoor producer for the primary time, surrendering among the isolation that after outlined his inventive course of in change for a newfound sense of readability and depth. “I felt like I used to be essentially the most entire I’ve been whereas writing these songs,” he tells Atwood Journal. “Most occasions I really feel like I’m stumbling round at the hours of darkness, however this time I knew what I wished to create.”
The result’s a report that feels timeless but alive – lo-fi and luminous, uncooked and refined in equal measure. Its soundscape lives someplace between the analog heat of an outdated AM dial and the introspection of late-night confession; for Linaberry, these are the sounds and tales of his personal coming of age. On “Automotive Crash,” the album’s aching opener, Linaberry presents what seems like a thesis assertion for the human situation: “I need your entire coronary heart, even the damaged components.” The tune swells and breathes like a cinematic exhale, an intimate internal reckoning that finds consolation in imperfection. It’s adopted by the dreamy “Savages,” a sweaty, sentimental portrait of youth and abandon (“We have been savages, summer time steamed off our pores and skin”) that burns with the warmth of reminiscence.
I acknowledge it’s simple to wax poetic about childhood or days passed by, however with all of the upheaval on the earth at this time I discovered exploring the loves of my youth reassuring and comforting.
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Pressure and tenderness move in equal measure throughout these eleven songs. The haunting “Shameless” stands out as one in every of Linaberry’s private favorites – “One thing about that tune hits all of the notes for me on how I envisioned the album sounding,” he says – its verses echoing by way of empty streets and half-lit bars like ghosts of a love as soon as alive. The folksy, acoustic guitar-led “Coronary heart Assault” wrestles with the load of expectation and religion (“God ain’t ready on me anyway”), whereas “Waste Some Time,” that includes The Climate Station’s Tamara Lindeman, slows the heart beat to one thing delicate and lived-in. “You stated a fearful coronary heart at all times retains their ghosts, so it by no means sleeps alone,” Linaberry sings, his voice fraying on the edges. It’s a second of quiet revelation – one which captures each the fragility and the resilience on the core of Radio Waves.
That duality – the ache and the acceptance – culminates in “Begin Once more,” the album’s tender, piano-led finale. Stripped to its essence, the tune seems like a prayer whispered to oneself: “Fold us down into this land, shut our eyes, begin once more.” It’s a closing that doesn’t promise decision, however chance – a reminder that therapeutic isn’t about erasing what was, however studying to carry it gently. “I suppose I ended the report with it as a result of it felt like a robust method to exit,” Linaberry says. “It has a special taste than the remainder of the report… one in every of my favourite sleeper hits.”
For all its reflection, Radio Waves isn’t a retreat into the previous a lot as a dialog with it – a transmission from the identical stressed coronary heart that has guided The Bones of J.R. Jones for over a decade. Linaberry revisits his earliest fascinations – these late nights by the radio, these limitless drives by way of the Catskills – to not relive them, however to know how they formed the person and the musician he’s turn out to be. It’s the sound of somebody tuning again into themselves.
All you must do is tune in.
Within the months since Radio Waves first landed, Linaberry hasn’t slowed down. Recent off his community tv debut on CBS Saturday Morning, he’s revisited the album by way of a brand new lens with Radio Waves (Deluxe) – a re-imagined assortment that provides demos, alternate takes, B-sides, and 4 reside recordings captured at New York’s Le Poisson Rouge. It’s an intimate companion piece, filled with tough edges and radiant moments that reveal the internal sanctum of a songwriter nonetheless searching for what else could be hiding inside his personal songs.
“Radio Waves Deluxe is a compilation of demos, totally different takes, reside variations, and B-sides,” Linaberry shares. “As a listener I at all times get pleasure from seeing the ‘may have beens’ with regards to a report. It’s like sneaking a peek at somebody’s inventive course of, which may very well be embarrassing or yield some inspiring perception into creation. Both manner it’s one thing enjoyable.”
That curiosity extends to the reworked “Drive (Deluxe 1982),” a shimmering experiment that pushes his sound deeper into analog dreamland. “It performs heavy on the CS-80 synth and programmed Linn drum,” he says. “To not be taken too critically, however extra of an exploration for myself to see the place this tune may have ended up. I can’t stand to consider music as a static factor. It’s in itself kinetic, and I’m at all times baffled when individuals adhere to 1 singular thought with regards to a tune. It ought to be ever altering.”
Radio waves carry me
Feeling burnt, I can’t sleep
And I bought a gap in my head
Ratting me out
I’m so bored with singing alone
No one’s there on my phone
It’s simply the beat, beat
Beat in my head
Am I dropping
Dropping my –
Dropping my thoughts?
– “Drive,” The Bones of J.R. Jones
That sense of evolution feels true to Radio Waves itself – an album constructed on movement, reminiscence, and the refusal to face nonetheless.
Jonathon Linaberry stays drawn to the sparkle and hum of impermanence: Songs that transfer, shift, and reveal new shades every time you come to them.
In dialog, he displays on that very same spirit of motion – nonetheless on identification, reinvention, and what it means to maintain discovering gentle within the static. We additionally talk about the making of Radio Waves, his collaboration with producer Robbie Lackritz, the tales behind songs like “Automotive Crash,” “Shameless,” and “Begin Once more,” and the way wanting backward helped him transfer ahead.
It’s a dialogue about creation and connection, about chasing the sign that by no means fades – and about studying, time and again, to easily tune in.
Dive into our dialog under, and take heed to Radio Waves wherever you stream music!
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‘Radio Waves’ – The Bones of J.R. Jones
A CONVERSATION WITH THE BONES OF J.R. JONES
Atwood Journal: Jonathon, we’re so a few years into you making music underneath this poetic moniker. What is the state of play for The Bones of J.R. Jones at this time, and the way does the identify characterize you now, six albums into your profession?
The Bones of J.R. Jones: To be sincere, I consistently wrestle whether or not to vary the identify or not. I hear rather a lot from different musicians with monikers and the way all of us share this sense of purchaser’s regret. Haha. I believe in actuality that ship has sailed, however each report cycle I ask myself what wouldn’t it appear to be if I modified the identify of this mission.
I do not suppose I ever requested you – and I’ve struggled to seek out this information on-line – what impressed the identify within the first place?
The Bones of J.R. Jones: I performed my first present with out pondering of what to name myself. It was the kind of bar gig that you’re simply that to make noise. Nobody is there to pay attention. Nobody cared. I bought paid for my set in two pints, I believe. After my set somebody requested my identify. The Bones of J.R. Jones is the very first thing to give you. I had no intention on it sticking round for 13 years on.
Radio Waves arrived this June as your sixth full-length report. Are you able to share just a little in regards to the story behind this album?
The Bones of J.R. Jones: Radio Waves is a little bit of an ode to the music and recollections of my childhood. The primary cassette tapes I had. Those I performed out to the purpose the tape itself would warble and turn out to be drained. I acknowledge it’s simple to wax poetic about childhood or days passed by, however with all of the upheaval on the earth at this time I discovered exploring the loves of my youth reassuring and comforting.
This album arrives two years after 2023’s Sluggish Lightning – what was your imaginative and prescient going into this new batch of songs? Did that change over the course of recording this?
I had a reasonably clear path after I first began penning this album. I wrote an entire manifesto for it and created a deck filled with pictures and inspiration factors to behave as my north retailer when writing these songs. It helped tremendously. Any time I felt misplaced or not sure on a choice, I may reference it and most occasions it helped set me down the best path.
Why the title “Radio Waves”?
The Bones of J.R. Jones: I really feel prefer it holds a number of meanings for me. One is the very tongue and cheek reference of being an unbiased musician and making an attempt to get your music performed on the radio, which I’ve at all times struggled to do. So the title in that sense is considerably self-deprecating. One other one can be extra romantic and doubtless extra true, nevertheless it’s a little bit of a narrative. I bear in mind driving the Catskills one very chilly and really clear October night time over a decade in the past.
There may be little to no radio service for a lot of the drive up Rt. 28 to the place I reside. I bear in mind reaching the crest of a mountain and in the meanwhile the radio that was set to scan on AM picked up a sports activities station from Chicago. The Cubs had simply received a recreation and there was a lot pleasure within the announcer’s voice. I pulled over and listened for a couple of minutes. It was such a particular and sudden second to expertise. I felt like I used to be eavesdropping on one thing that was occurring throughout the nation. It was from one other life, one other time. I suppose the title comes from a little bit of that night time.
How do you are feeling Radio Waves reintroduces you and captures your artistry as it’s at this time in 2025?
The Bones of J.R. Jones: Undecided on the reintroduction facet, however I can say that I felt like I used to be essentially the most entire I’ve been whereas writing these songs. And what I imply by that’s I had path. Most occasions I really feel like I’m stumbling round at the hours of darkness… which offers its personal little bit of inspiration, haha. However this time I felt like I knew what I wished to create, which felt nice. It’s been a very long time since I felt that manner.
You have beforehand shared how this album explores your individual coming-of-age story over an ‘80s and ‘90s-inspired soundscape. Are you able to share a bit about your influences going into these songs, and the way you sought to provide this album a sound of its personal?
The Bones of J.R. Jones: Influences are humorous, slippery issues. I really feel like they’ll change on you over time. That being stated, I attempted to not pull instantly from any specific songs. I used to be simply after a sense, so if a tune impressed me… I attempted to determine why. What was it? The theme? The manufacturing? The phrases? The setting I used to be in after I heard it? And if I may determine that out… that’s what I wrote my tune from. Undecided if that is sensible, however that’s one of the best ways I describe it.
What was your expertise like collaborating with Robbie Lackritz as producer – The Bones of J.R. Jones’ first exterior producer?
The Bones of J.R. Jones: Working with Robbie was nice! Such a stable human with an unimaginable ear. We recorded in two separate periods over the summer time of 2024, however I began sending him demos earlier that spring. We have been restricted on time and funds, so there was rather a lot pre-production work to get achieved within the hopes of streamlining the report periods. Lengthy story quick, it was fast however an amazing expertise.
You open the report with the aching and churn of “Automotive Crash,” an emotionally uncooked and revealing introduction. Why begin the album with this tune, and the way do you are feeling it units the scene?
The Bones of J.R. Jones: I believe each Robbie and I knew once we recorded that observe that it needed to open the report. It simply felt proper. That’s all I can actually say about it. Nothing else made sense to us and we type of constructed the sequence of the report off of “Automotive Crash.”
Do you might have any definitive favorites or private highlights off this report?
The Bones of J.R. Jones: I’d say my private favourite might be “Shameless.” One thing about that tune hits all of the notes for me on how I envisioned the album sounding.
I had the distinct pleasure of premiering “Begin Once more” earlier this 12 months, calling it a “delicate and soul-stirring reckoning” on the time. Why finish the album with that tune?
The Bones of J.R. Jones: And THANK YOU for that! I like that observe. Certainly one of my favourite sleeper hits. I suppose I ended the report with it, as a result of I felt prefer it was a robust method to exit. It has a little bit of a special taste than the remainder of the report and can also be in my very own modest opinion one of many higher songs on the report. I like the concept of ending with a little bit of a buried gem.
As a lyrically ahead artist, do you might have any favourite lyrics in these songs?
The Bones of J.R. Jones: “Waste Some Time”:
You stated a fearful coronary heart,
All the time retains their ghosts,
So it by no means sleeps alone.
It’s those that harm essentially the most,
You retain closest to the glow.
Are you able to describe this report in three phrases?
The Bones of J.R. Jones: Dim Summer season Road Lights. I’m conscious that’s 4, haha.
What do you hope listeners take away from Radio Waves? What have you ever taken away from creating it and now placing it out?
The Bones of J.R. Jones: I attempt to not mission my hopes onto listeners. I believe that solely brings disappointment. Haha. I view music as a residing kinetic factor and other people will eat it, relate to it (or not) in their very own manner. After I launch a report I’m making an attempt to be higher about recognizing it’s now not mine. Individuals will mission their very own tales onto these songs and I like thought.
Every report is its personal beast, however I believe this one has left me feeling extra impressed than ever. I often hit a wall after a launch and anticipate that it’ll occur once more on this report, however at the moment I’m feeling fairly good and already writing for the subsequent one.
Within the spirit of paying it ahead, who’re you listening to nowadays that you’d suggest to our readers?
The Bones of J.R. Jones: Reverend Baron, Ted Hawkins, and Lonesome Shack.
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