Jonny Lang - Signs

'Signs' is vocalist/guitarist Jonny Lang’s first new album in four years. It’s all-at-once Delta bluesy, contemporary, light-hearted and bittersweet. Lang’s electric guitar is a phenomenal tour-de-force and the singing genuinely expresses a myriad of emotion. Lang doesn’t stand on ceremony with this clever assemblage of powerful ballads. “I should have been the one,” he croons on ‘Make it Move,’ where he drives the point home that you have to direct your life forward even when it hurts. It’s a determined battle cry for the DIY movement. ‘Snakes’ also relies on an assertive thread. “Move my feet/Face my dreams…” There is a lot of hope in these words and Lang follows through with every soulful breath. Moreover, the throbbing bass underscores the palpable tension throughout. ‘Last Man Standing’ includes a torrential electric guitar introduction which lead to some out-of-this world vocal gyrations and seductive twists and turns. What’s distinctive about ‘Signs’ is the curious interplay between Lang and the electric guitar and the way he finesses such exuberance from that one-word phrase. ‘What You’re Made of’ turns the tables on the unsuspecting listener at exactly the right moment. You might even think Lang is covering a Stevie Wonder tune—it’s got such a demonstrative funk appeal. ‘Bitter End’ is a tear-jerker. “Everything you hold dear is slipping through your fingers/There’s nothing you can do,” Lang sings, with heart on sleeve and ear in superb alignment. “When you feel the weight of the world weighing on you,” he tells his love, they will be ‘Stronger Together’. Another surprise; this song is more of a pop-lite with some R & B sparks, whilst the following ballad, ‘Into the Light’ revels in Lang’s ability to infuse total soul into the most minute measure. ‘Bring Me Back Home’ is an arrangement that flourishes because of its restraint. It’s so lovely to hear Lang work the lead alone and then to have the rest of the band filter in with such sensitivity. “Tired of all these bootleggers/Giving away my soul for free” is one great line, as well. ‘Wisdom’ can’t come too early,’ Lang warns, and then, ‘Wisdom can’t come too fast’ all against the blinding heartbeat of the earthy percussion. The understated closer couldn’t have been more delicately produced: enhanced by strings, simple lyrics and an explosive, instrumental outro, it’s aptly called, ‘Singing Songs’; something this wunderkind does exceedingly well.

Track Listing:-

1 Make It Move
2 Snakes
3 Last Man Standing
4 Signs
5 What You're Made Of
6 Bitter End
7 Stronger Together
8 Into The Light
9 Bring Me Back Home
10 Wisdom
11 Singing Songs