Ayron Jones

Child Of The State

BIG MACHINE/JOHN VARVATOS

A wild ride and thoughtprovoking commentary from Seattle’s new guitar hero

Having spent years releasing his music independently under the radar, Ayron Jones’s label debut has the confidence of a performer who has spent decades owning arena stages – which is perhaps unsurprising given the fact that Guns N’Roses’ Duff McKagan and Pearl Jam’s Mike McCready are among his admirers.

From the full-fat riffage and punk-blues vocal of swaggering opener Boys From The Puget Sound to the grunge blast of

Killing Season, to the good oldfashioned raunch of

Supercharged, this album feels like a showcase of every aspect of his character. At times it can make it a little unfocused – the apologetic My Love Remains is a blowsy slab of classic rock balladry that lands just the wrong side of Bon Jovi-sickly – but, stuffed with Zeppelinworshiping riffs, attitude and soul, it’s mainly a grand showcase of an ambitious and natural talent. It’s thoughtprovoking too, with no room for misinterpretation on the weighty Mercy.

Ending with a scream from him and an empathetic howl from his guitar, it’s a powerful portrait of life as a black man in modern-day America: ‘Got me on my knees, too much smoke, can’t breathe.’

Ayron Jones could well be the new guitar hero for our times.

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