In times of trouble, optimism is a radical act. It’s also dicy. The optimist must be tough enough to risk heartbreak and disappointment. When we dare to hope, we put ourselves on the line: we’re making the choice to brave misfortune and spread cheer anyway. When we don’t dare — when we refuse to let the light shine — we close ourselves down.
That’s not a mistake that Bombardier Jones ever makes. Like all wildly creative people, the celebrated rocker has his shaky moments: “Let The Light Shine,” his radiant new single, was written in response to a panic attack. That’s the price of sensitivity, and the cost of living in a turbulent world. But Jones emphatically rejects despondency, and Dare To Hope, his latest album, foregrounds his courage, and his belief in the persistence that fuels his artistry.
“Let The Light Shine” is a pure expression of that positivity. It’s the absolute definition of an upbeat track — a delicious pop-soul cut with a lively melody and an instantly memorable refrain. If it sounds like an instant classic, there’s a very good reason for that: the singer-songwriter’s defiant refusal to give in to the immobilizing effects of pessimism will remind you of every irrepressible rocker who did the same. That said, Jones has a style all his own, and this single is a demonstration of its versatility and appeal. Much like the rest of Dare To Hope, “Let The Light Shine” is a dazzling, danceable, distinct fusion of R&B, folk-country, bracing new wave and psychedelic music. And while Jones is the captain of this ship, he’s had help from a talented crew of collaborators, including Kevin Barry of Jackson Browne’s band, Rodney Crowell accomplice John Carroll, bassist Ian Espey from Dead Whale Ramblers, and legendary Fairport Convention drummer Dave Mattacks.
A track as luminous as this one deserves a music video equally brilliant, and Bombardier Jones has delivered with an animated clip that is suffused with illumination. Directed by his brother, former Disney feature film animator Michael Cadwallader Jones, the clip gives anyone watching a newfound spring in their step. Rainbows, bright primary colors, dancers gyrating in bubbles: it all comes at you in a blast of color that’s as irresistible as sunlight. The visual has the look of a sixties show poster come to magnificent life — a wild flume-ride down an ever-shifting kaleidoscope. Jones appears in the video too, saturated in color, soloing with a grin. It’s all an expression of the elevating effects of optimism, a door banged open, a bright smile from a stranger.
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