SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: JOHN JENKINS – RESTLESS HEARTS

JOHN JENKINS
RESTLESS HEARTS
JOHN JENKINS MUSIC

Liverpool-based John Jenkins has been releasing music since 2015. Restless Hearts is his first album since the brilliant and very personal Tuebrook, released in 2023. Jenkins is an artist that is steeped in tradition, especially Americana and American classic country and western, with a little of Bruce Springsteen thrown in for good measure. As a result, he creates his own definite style within those genres. He is, at heart, a storyteller, and Restless Hearts plays out like an album of short stories. These are stories that are combined with incredible melodies that bring you in and hold you, like a good book.

Jenkins puts himself in the shows of the characters he sings about. On “Cruel Wind”, for example, he is the guy who drives his love. He creates characters with whom one can sympathize with, complete with their human failings. “Spent The Night In Austin” is another track of a person who is trying to find their way. Again, it is written in such a way that you, the listener, get an inside view. It is brilliant writing. “Made a friend with the jukebox, but even those happy songs brought me tears”, is wonderful poetry.

Jenkins has some help on the album, Mikey Kenney (fiddle), Scott Poley (dobro), Chris Howard (piano), Phil Chisnall (resonator guitar), Pippa Murdie (mandolin, cello, and backing vocals), and Jon Lawton (various guitars and bass). To that end, listen to the incredible duet between Jenkins and Murdie on “Colorado In The Spring”. It is so beautiful and moving. Jenkins and Murdie together create an angelic sound. But the album belongs to Jenkins. His voice and guitar complement each other and are perfect for these songs.

Elsewhere, songs like “I Didn’t Really Want To Change The World” have a bluegrass and old country feel to it, complete with fiddle and pedal steel. It is a brilliant song and has great lyrics that allow Jenkins to cut a little loose and have a little fun. He also tips his hat to his influences and heroes (such as Kris Kristofferson with “Too Many Roads”).

With Restless Hearts he has come up with his best album to date. The songs are strong, and the album as a whole stays with you once the needle has hit the last song. The production and arrangements are simple but effective. There are no frills here, it is pure music and stories. Restless Hearts sounds like it should have come out of Kentucky, but it really doesn’t matter where Jenkins is from or where he lives. He taps into the human condition with these songs and in the end, that is really what sets this album apart from many others in the Americana genre.

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