Natalie Jones
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Natalie Jones

Swansea, Wales, United Kingdom | Established. Jan 01, 2011 | SELF

Swansea, Wales, United Kingdom | SELF
Established on Jan, 2011
Band Country Rock

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"Now You Know: Review"

This is real creativity and imagination - Et Chalky (US Songwriter)


"Artist Review"

Incredibly talented - David Levy (Power Station Studios Texas)


"Natalie Jones - Now You Know review October 14, 2013"

Natalie Jones' debut spin "Now You Know" is highlighted by a lush, adeptly channeled, emotional voice-presence skillfully orchestrated through 13 radio friendly pop/soft rock crossover declarations. The flow is melodically dynamic and pretty much masterfully - pun willfully absorbed - revealed when scrutinized from then angles of all the genre specific considerations of definition and obligatory instant pop power. The sound is punchy, yet never arrogant or intimidating, while the songcraft willfully submits to all the major - AND minor, too - culturally ingrained pop-affections without losing a face and the ethos of creative dignity in the process.

The disk weighs in at 59 minutes of melodic pop/soft rock stimuli, and never once falls into the false luxury of losing focus on the main actual attraction, which is to showcase Jones' considerable singing talent, exhibited on top of all the various sonic/harmonic domains of the most popular western scales and musical keys. Fear not! Or, fear only if you are a pop diva who frequents this site - this either is very bad or very good taste, madame - her natural timber elevates her above 99 of 100 recent pop divas, and the remaining one (logically) is her.

Granted, the chord progressions are polite and not at all experimentive in their intents and render no challenge to the boundaries of radio friendly music, nevertheless their inherent timeless charms are explored (AND exploited) thoroughly, toppled by the favorite vocal ornamentics of the profiling artist. The mere consideration of the unchained female singing voice is not the ONLY consideration though, not this time - Natalie Jones sounds to have a natural talent at spotting melodies that are truly worth giving attention to on top of the given bonfire tonalities. Read on to know more about this.

The album is an immediate benchmark from a production standpoint, and a textbook on how to craft pop songs using a pop song generator sheet, if you are really really serious about it. Being faithful to their intents to not venture off from the field of the on-spot identifiable bonfire harmonies, the tracks are doubtless prone to exhibit certain, steadily re-occurring dramatics and key narrative/harmonic dynamics. Oftentimes you will get the opening theme and the hints of its underlying harmonic structure in an intentionally spacious introductory segment, and then the songs burst into especially richly detailed fabrics, - the tracks called "This Is My Home" and "Rain" are the most prominent delivers in this aspect, I feel - and the best trait of the experience is, that despite how "crowded" some of these audio environments are, the respective ingredients remain crystal clear and optimally separated, respecting the adjacent private spheres of all sounds in their direct vicinity.

A sense of relative repetition, an insistence of the seemingly already-addressed will inevitably be sensible during certain segments of the disk, - there is a somewhat limited number of polite melodic anatomies worth singing over the timeless open chord grooves, after all - yet the uncompromisingly crystal clear, well sculpted sounds and the fresh, soulful female vocal presence likely will manage to seduce your awareness to soak your ears into the entirety of the record nevertheless. You will actually be grateful for the fact that you will know what happens next, and, when you are right, you will feel - shaaaame (?) on you - good about yourself. This is the premiere intention of the attraction, - and not one that one should criticize it for. Maintaining these premiere directives is a type of creative job, and the disk pulls it off superbly.

As result of all this, if you are not into such extreme sports as flattering your ego into slumber and right back from it, then this solid album is best taken in via multiple dancing/sitting sessions, as the relative similarity between the structures will be less evident this way, yet it is safe to say that each and every track is a safe bet if and when the plan is to pop up an immediate melodic soft rock song with a fresh, pop overtone to it. An especially strong debut from an artist, who, despite her young age, already enjoys ripe command of her voice, and the audio environment that bends to her will, is masterfully researched and presented. - GyZ at Bandcamp


"Natalie Jones: “Now You Know” Is Ready To Rule The Radio! OCTOBER 21, 2013"

The Natalie Jones Band is an original music band from the Swansea area in South Wales. Fronted by 22 year old Natalie Jones, the band works together, to bring life to her uniquely catchy Folk-Rock compositions. The band’s manager and lead guitarist Simon Jeffers, is also the mastermind recorder and producer for the band, working from his home studio set up in Ystalyfera. The musical unit is comprised of the longtime bass player, Gethin Samuel and drummer Chris Trayner. Each member of the band contributes greatly towards the song arrangements.

With no official release date at this time, other than the promise that it will be revealed in 2013, we had a sneak preview of the Natalie’s upcoming thirteen-track album “Now You Know”. On it Natalie Jones shows us her world of folk-rock music, which borders on smooth and catchy contemporary pop. She travels from traditional to contemporary and to progressive folk-rock. This album serves up songs for people across the spectrum and should be lauded for its diversity. Yet, although this album caters to a spectrum of different tastes, Jones does not sacrifice cohesiveness for diversity.

“Now You Know” is an overall outstanding album and I was literally blown away. It consists mainly of driven mid tempos and ballads, which brings about a different tone, lyric maturity, and beauty. I liked that Natalie sings with passion and fervor but didn’t try to ‘sing to the moon’ or overdo the screams and shouts as many young up and coming singers do.

The wonderful compositions are also backed by an incredible production and some great string arrangements, together with the most tasteful guitars riffs, strums and solos, I have heard on a pop record recently. In fact besides Natalie’s exquisite vocal deliveries, I think Simon Jeffers’ guitars make huge contribution to the album’s understated power and verve.

The true mark of an extraordinary album is when the listener experiences it from start to finish, and is taken on a journey through a variety of stories, feeling the emotional connection behind each track. This is what Natalie Jones and her band accomplishes on “Now You Know”.

Standouts abound right from the first track, “My Mistake” and onto “The Reason”, “Here I Am”, “Run Girl Run”, “Breathe”, “Infinity”, “Rain” and the title track, “Now You Know”. However there is something in this album for everyone no matter what you like. These songs are so relatable, that’s what makes them good!

This is Natalie Jones. No matter what she sings, she sounds good. That being said, the songs here are powerful and emotional, as well as catchy. “Now You Know” has got a little bit of everything, from the emotional personal song to the power ballad love song to the gritty pay-back song. However, she also ventures into some new territories with up-beat classic pop songs and laid-back chill tunes. So basically, it perfectly toes the line between folk-orientated storytelling and rocking rhythms, which are smooth enough to rule the pop radio stations from east to west. I definitely recommend this album! - Rick Jamm


"NATALIE JONES - NOW YOU KNOW [ALBUM REVIEW] October 29, 2013"

Natalie Jones and company (comprised of Simon Jeffers, Gethin Samuel, and Chris Trayner) have been developing their sound for a relatively short period of time, but apparently are able to dig deep into the trenches with their debut release entitled Now You Know. At first I was hesitant when I set out to review this album, but by the time I reached the end of the 13 track, full length record I was fairly hooked. The band originates from the Swansea area of South Wales, but there music comes tinged with heavy doses pop folk/rock accessibility that I could imagine this being created in any part of the modern world. Through and through, it is a radio friendly and fairly commercial collection of music that occasionally bends the rules and ventures into unique territory.

Production/Composition

The music presented to me by Natalie Jones on this record sounds very solid on the whole. There are moments of auditory weakness, namely in the sound of the piano on some of the tracks (it sounds a bit thin to my ears), but it still remains listenable. Still, some of my favorite tones come from the crisp clean electric guitars and the lead/solo tones across the album. On the track “The Reason” these tones are highlighted at there best, and they certainly enhance the music in many significant ways. As for the actual compositions on Now You Know, they run the gamut of the pop, folk rock, and country genres. Some of them are a bit weaker, but others stand out in significant ways. The opening track “My Mistake” is fantastic, and the aforementioned “The Reason” is equally (if not more) excellent at it showcases a country-styled duet between Natalie Jones and her male vocalist counterpart. Still, it’s hard to ignore a track like “Heartache,” which seems to implode during the generic funk rhythms, chunky bass lines, and cheesy lyrics of the chorus especially. Even the solos on this track sort of just descend into almost random musical scale runs for no particular reason. But, at the end of the day, as the album progresses towards it’s climax in “Where is My Mind,” I can say without a doubt that the music gets better as it goes forward, even though it seems to trip up out of the gate, if ever so slightly.

Instrumentation/Vocals

I actually very much enjoyed the stylistic changes found across this album. This is showcased in how the instruments contained within are capable of being bent and changed to adapt to new sonic environments. “My Mistake” opens with an almost psychedelic styled intro, heavily reminiscent of some of the psych-folk work of Iron & Wine. The high intensity and symphonic track “Breath” stands out as a masterpiece of this album. It pairs synths, strings, and pop rock altogether in a beautiful and downright unique manner. The following track, “Infinity,” slows down the tempo and descends into a piano heavy pop ballad, and allows Natalie Jones to showcase her vocal abilities to the fullest. And on the topic of vocals, they are fairly solid across the album. Like the actual track quality, they become more developed and better sounding as the album goes on. There are moments of weakness littered throughout the tracks, with what sounds like some hesitance in her voice to be found at moments like on “My Mistake,” but after listening through this album a few times, they seemingly grew on me. I always tend to enjoy imperfection, especially when vocalists put themselves on the line like this, and it adds an element of humanity to music that is so often stripped out of pop music with AutoTune and other effects. So, in the end, they it is not a perfect voice, but it sounds lovely and is pleasurable regardless to those willing to listen.

Overall Impression

Considering that Natalie Jones’ record Now You Know was developed within the pop folk/rock paradigm, which in and of itself does not really shift all that much, it is a great album. It is not exactly groundbreaking to my ears, but it is definitely competent. Some moments standout, like on the track “Breath,” where the band decides to dabble into an almost entirely different genre. The song “Rain,” also stands out for a similar reason. The incorporation of beautiful strings (though synthetic, I believe), adds a sonic warmth and texture to the music that just enhances it so much in my mind. Of course, it’s hard to deny that there are some weaker tracks, especially that aforementioned “Heartache” which seems to set this album back a bit in my mind. It just feels so contrived and almost meant as unnecessary filler in an already hefty album length.

So, in conclusion, I think this is a solid and accessible record. Again, not exactly groundbreaking, but it’s littered with moments of pop perfection and intrigue. You will probably enjoy this if you like a good dose of radio friendly hits, alternative rock, folk, and country music. In the least, it’s worth checking out and deciding for yourself how you really feel. - Hear The Indie


Discography

Studio Album: Now You Know. Released: February 24, 2014. Label: Unsigned. Formats: CD, Digital Download.

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Bio

Hello, Shw mae...

The Natalie Jones band are an original music band from the Swansea area in South Wales. 
Fronted by 23 year old Natalie Jones, the band work together to bring life to her uniquely catchy Country-Rock compositions. 
The band's manager and lead guitarist Simon Jeffers, is also the mastermind producer for the band, working from his home studio set up in Ystalyfera. Heathfield Studio. The musical unit is also comprised of longtime bass player, Gethin Samuel and drummer Chris Trayner.
The band are currently working hard in promoting their debut album Now You Know, released February 2014.

Band Members