Jon Allen : 'In your light'
The debut single from London boy Jon Allen is many things, refreshing, warm and most of all stunning. It’s not very often that as soon as you hear the song you just feel instantly elated, however this song makes you feel that way. It is obvious from this one track alone that Allen is a talented song writer. Favouring instead of complicated wording and metaphorical nonsense to just use perfectly chosen words, to tell the story of a man who is completely besotted with a girl. Although the story has been told many times, it’s the way he brilliantly crafts his words that makes it such a brilliant track, "When I look into your eyes/ it all makes sense to me/ I didn’t know I could feel this way/ I am happy just to be". Further more unlike other male singer/songwriters he never needs to use any words that describe the women’s beauty such as ‘beautiful’ he sings of her very plainly yet his affection for this woman is made perfectly clear.
Allen’s voice is a rich mix of smooth and raspy sounds like a mix of James Blunt and Rod Stewart, but with less pretentiousness and more sincerity.
The simple 3 instrument backing is also very effective showing that you don’t need to multi-layer things or give them a massive sound to sound beautiful, the song sounds all the better for not going over the top musically. The songs' most emotive lines are underscored by simple chords from a Hammond organ that while so simple, takes the song to higher level of emotion.
Jon Allen’s song writing abilities show that while he may not be the strongest vocally, he is a fantastic words man with a real craft of the language. His storytelling skills are breathtaking, and the musicianship flawless. I look forward to hearing a lot more from him in the future and look forward to him heralding a new age of genuinely talented singer-songwriters.
Words: Kevin Angel
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