2013

by Meilyr Jones

Overview

After nearly a decade fronting Welsh indie pop band Race Horses, Meilyr Jones' solo debut explores newfound individuality inspired partly by a post-disbandment, post-relationship trip to Rome, Italy in the spring of 2013. Despite the circumstances, 2013 is less a breakup album than an assertion of self, simmering with wry humor and musical whimsy, often evoking a combination of Rufus Wainwright and compatriot singer/songwriters Gruff Rhys and Sweet Baboo. These qualities are all on display on the symphonic "Passionate Friend," with woodblock, flittering woodwinds, strings, and pitch-bending brass bringing to life the lyrical melodrama. Elsewhere, the operatic "Olivia" stretches from tympani to wind chimes, and "Featured Artist" is a vocal-era lounge act-type tune about ego and fleeting moments of celebrity (such as the guy who gets "on the front of that free magazine"). Like most of the album, these songs were recorded live in the studio with a 30-piece orchestra, an approach used to replicate the effect of Frank Sinatra recordings. Other songs, like the ballad "Refugees," are sparer, though this one, too, was captured live, reportedly in one take while concurrently shooting Jones at the piano for the single's music video. There's also the unexpected 90-second interlude "Rain in Rome," an approximated Renaissance-style a cappella piece with an outdoor setting. For all of the album's playfulness, there are still signs of heartache, with lyrics like "love is a weakness, love is a curse," and songs such as the jaunty opener "How to Recognise a Work of Art," which has the songwriter working through a metaphor to expose an inauthentic person ("It's a fake"). Through it all, and sometimes in spite of ambitious arrangements, Jones proves himself to have a way with poignancy and yearning melodies that stick. ~ Marcy Donelson

Product Details

Release Date:	04/22/2016
Label:	PIAS AMERICA
UPC:	5414939933134

Tracks

1. How to Recognise a Work of Art
2. Don Juan
3. Passionate Friend
4. Refugees
5. Rome
6. Rain in Rome
7. Strange Emotional
8. Return to Life
9. Love
10. Olivia
11. Featured Artist
12. Be Soft

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Meilyr Jones   Primary Artist,Bass,Piano,Guitar
Lucy Railton   Vocals (Background),Cello
Seb Philpott   Trumpet,Flugelhorn
Robert Jones   Piano
Michael Kidd   French Horn
Richard Shepherd   Sax (Baritone),Clarinet (Bass)
Valentina Magaletti   Drums
Lucy Mercer   Drums,Percussion
Anisa Arslanagic   Viola
George Sleightholme   Clarinet,Clarinet (Bass)
Katie Stevens   Violin
Eoghan Kelly   Trombone
Katarzyna Kowalik   Harpsichord
Sylvana Labeyrie   Harp
Sinead Frost   Bassoon
Rehana Brown   Flute
Olwen Foulkes   Recorder
Maya Kaddish   Violin
Aimee McMorrow   Choir/Chorus
Louie Larkin   Choir/Chorus
Wezi Elliott   Theorbo
Pawel Siwczak   Harpsichord
Heyley Pullen   Bassoon
Christine Arthur-Collins   Choir/Chorus
Charlotte Eva Bryan   Choir/Chorus
Ann-Kirsten Neeson   Choir/Chorus
Richard Jones   Viola
Emma Smith   Vocals (Background),Violin,Saxophone
Piotr Jordan   Violin
Dan West   Trombone (Bass)
Euan Hinshelwood   Guitar
Cate Le Bon   Voices
Jean Kelly   Harp
Daniel Bradley   Drums,Percussion
David Allan   Choir/Chorus
Gavin Thompson   Choir/Chorus
Hannes Arnold   French Horn
Lavinia Blackwall   Choir/Chorus
William Yates   Trombone
Chris Smith   Trombone
Steffan Jones   Percussion
Simon Tong   Soloist,Trumpet,Flugelhorn
Stephen Black   Bass
Gruff Ab Arwel   Guitar (Electric)
Adam Stearns   Choir/Chorus
Alexis Stearns   Choir/Chorus
Charlie Neeson   Choir/Chorus
Declan McDonnell   Choir/Chorus
Graham Mack   Choir/Chorus
Ronan Deazley   Choir/Chorus
Rory Haye   Choir/Chorus
Sarah O'Shaughnessy   Choir/Chorus
Teresa Magee   Choir/Chorus
Flora Curzon   Violin,Vocals (Background)
Eloisa-Fleur Thom   Soloist
Iris Pucciarelli   Harpsichord
Emily Hale   Violin
Joseph Davies   Piano,Conductor
Koichi Yamanoha   Guitar (Acoustic)
Soila Haekkinen   Violin,Vocals (Background)
Kimon Parry   Clarinet
Katherine Bryer   Oboe
Simon Eastwood   Double Bass
Pippa Ovenden   Piano

Technical Credits

Robert Jones   Engineer
Jimmy Robertson   Mixing,Engineer
Iwan Morgan   Mixing,Engineer,Producer,Mastering
Joseph Rogers   Assistant Engineer
Louise Mason   Cover Photo
Meilyr Jones   Arranger,Composer,Engineer,Producer
Laszlo Rozsa   Engineer
Joseph Davies   Arranger
Pippa Ovenden   Engineer
John Dent   Mastering