Album Review: Durand Jones & The Indications, Durand Jones & The Indications

Durand Jones – perhaps his Ma was a Simon LeBon fan and the second ‘uran’ is silent? – hadn’t intended on being a singer at all. He left his native Louisiana for college in the big town with an alto saxophone under his arm, and it was only as he started to sing in front of rooms full of drunken students that a plan began to form. The Tascam four-track cassette recorder that he and his fellow Indications worked with is far from the only throwback on this deliberately old-fashioned soul record.

The late Charles Bradley is an obvious influence on the opening ‘Make A Change’, very close in tone and pace to Bradley’s ‘The World (Is Going Up In Flames)’. The single ‘Smile’ – as well as his falsetto on ‘Is It Any Wonder’ – show that Mr Jones has the voice to carry this kind of stuff off.

They speed up the tempo for ‘Groovy Babe’ and ‘Tuck ‘N’ Roll’, which has a hint of The Meters at their syncopated best, but the highlight here is the languorous ballad ‘Giving Up’, where the Indications – with the help of a guitar line reminiscent of Etta James’ ‘I’d Rather Go Blind’ – find the pocket, get into it, and stay there.

The problem is that the whole thing sounds just slightly dry; it’s in need of a more sympathetic producer and just a bit of grit in the grain. Further time spent finishing songs like ‘Now I’m Gone’, a string section here and there, and more backing vocals, would have made all the difference. Make no mistake, it’s good – but their next one will be better.

Rating: 7/10