The Sheffield Scenester

Back in July we interviewed Jon Windle and not only did he discuss his upcoming album but we were also privileged to hear a sneak preview of a couple of tracks that were going to be on it...then as August came around we met up with Jon again and he gave us the coveted album pretty much straight off the press. ‘My Name’s Frankie’ is the opening track on his (as yet untitled) album, it grabs you in pretty much the same way as when we heard it for the first time. You can nail the chorus easily and so singing along is almost a given, and to be honest, this is what made LMT so loveable, their ability to punch out a good tune with great yet memorable lyrics, and this is what Jon has taken to heart in writing this album.

There is no doubt he has matured, after all he is now married with a kid on the way, and this maturity is reflected in many of the songs here, but to his credit he hasn’t alienated the faithful. I’m talking about the many LMT fans across Sheffield and mainly in the North that were no doubt gutted when the news broke of their final shows and split. With songs like the aforementioned opener as well as ‘Step Out The Man’ which has been available as a free download for some time now, and ‘A Winters Love Affair’ (which went under the working title of ‘Bada’) there is plenty here to mosh too when he debuts at The Plug in October, so don’t you guys lose faith out there, Jon hasn’t forgotten you!
Oddly enough it isn’t these tracks which we’d rate the best on the album; yes they do bring back memories of many a LMT gig where everyone would be moshing away for a good hour or so only to leave the venue black and blue....all drenched in sweat. No it’s the more tender, the more mature side to Jon’s song writing that appeals to us, the first of which is the track ‘1995’, a story of lost love. To be fair this style of writing began to show its face in songs like ‘She Looked Like Audrey Hepburn’....one of their best songs, not exactly anthem material, instead, an intelligently crafted song as was the greatly under-rated ‘Boy In The Anorak’, and like them, this is a much more gentler melody with haunting guitars backing up a soothing vocal delivery.

This is closely followed by ‘Buskers Carol’, currently our favourite track on the whole album, essentially it’s a song about a down and out musician and the life he leads with his one and only true friend, his guitar, who is aptly named Lady! Not exactly a cheerful anecdote as we are told the tale of what the busker of the title had and then went onto lose, but one things for sure.....it will be great to see it performed live as the whole crowd singing the final chorus will work beautifully. In fact I’d go so far as to say he should make this the last track of his set, even though it only comes in under three minutes, there is scope to play around with it, as Jon and the entire room could sing out the chorus together....you never know this could be a real lighter/mobile swaying moment!

Running a close second on the favourites list is the song ‘Move A Little Closer’, which is sung as a duet with Alison Wheeler of Beautiful South fame. In an odd way it reminds me of The Beautiful South as well, with the lyrics bouncing between Jon and Alison without so much as a hiccup creating a two sided story of two people who are made for each other. Easily the most harmonious track on the album and in all honesty the first one that really stood out as a winner.

When we interviewed Jon, one of the things he said was about his thoughts behind the album “I just thought I’ll stick to what I’m good at, there’s no point in me trying too hard”. At face value this sounds a bit defeatist...but on reflection he just meant that he had no intention of creating a seminal album, he just wanted to write and sing the music he loves. With this album, he has taken a more thoughtful approach to his song writing that demonstrates just how mature he has become, and I can only look forward to seeing him and his full band play live at The Plug on October 23rd. My only real niggle, if you like, is that using the song ‘My Name’s Frankie’ as an opener for the album doesn’t do it for me, especially since the title is also the first line of the song. This is Jon Windle, the Jon Windle and not some demented guy hellbent on blowing up X Factor (it’s what the song is about). I would have opened with ‘Step Out The Man’ as it follows in the same vein as ‘Man I Hate Your Band’ and ‘Money Wheel’, in so far as all three deal with aspects of the music industry and in a prophetic way reflects what Jon is doing now. That aside I do like what he has done and I wish him all the best with it.

We did get a taster of his forthcoming Plug gig down at The Frog And Parrot on Monday 30th August as part of the Frogstock festival. He played an acoustic set alongside Andy, Liam and Emily (AKA See Emily Play), who essentially makes up his acoustic band....obviously the only one missing for the full band is the drummer....so Jon informed the crowd, who had excitedly squashed into the venue to hear him play, that none other than Sheffield’s finest Dan Fields had agreed to play in the October gigs!

Whilst the more raucous tracks obviously loose a certain degree of energy in an acoustic set, they still stood up on their own as good songs. The eagerly waiting crowd sat listening attentively as Jon played a number of tracks from the album; it was hard to tell who was more nervous Jon or the gathered fans! The crowd soon relaxed as he played ‘Sober Minds’ which has been a free download for a while now, but generally the album tracks received quite positive feedback as afterwards he was mobbed by well wishers. Finishing the set with ‘House Party At Boothy’s’ may have been fun for the audience...but looking at Jon, you couldn’t help but wonder if he really missed those days. Still for an early show it went exceptionally well, especially for the albums first outing, obviously very few people knew the words...which felt slightly surreal for us as we pretty much sang along to every song! None the less October 23rd is a date I’m looking forward to, hope to see you there!