LIVE REVIEW: CHLOE JONES - GREEN NOTE - LONDON

In the past, Chloe Jones has been one of those artists that #TEAMw21 have only really caught up with at Buckle & Boots, where her 25-30 minute slot has meant trying to squeeze in as much as possible or where she was one third of a Songwriters Round. Each time we've come away thinking we really must see more of her, therefore a sold out rendezvous at the Green Note Basement was not to be missed. Rarely do you spend one evening with an artist and come out much wiser about them, but Chloe was open and honest about her influences and provided such insightful background as to how some of the songs were created that you really felt connected to her by the end, having a better idea of just who she was.

Stepping into the Green Note Basement, it was hard to know if this was a venue or a Chloe Jones pop up shop, with t-shirts and tote bags hanging from rails and cd's laid out across the piano. It would all add to the relaxed atmosphere of the evening which seemed to pass by in the blinking of an eye.

The first fact revealed on the night was that Chloe was a big Daphne Du Maurier fan, she would crop up again later but the opening song "Old Orchard Beach" drew inspiration from Daphne's vivid descriptions of Cornwall and pirates. With a voice, strong and folky and a delicately picked guitar, this was a nice introduction to her sound.

Chloe painted a picture of herself as always travelling, tales from which would be another prominent feature throughout the evening, but she always comes home to the house she has always lived in. It prepared us for "In This Room" being about her conservatory, and with that knowledge, Chloe's verbal brush strokes allowed us to gradually build a mental picture of her surroundings as she sung to another delicate guitar refrain.

One of the bonus songs on her new EP "Rope Swing" was a faster affair, the title a clever frame for using tales of holiday adventures to tell a quite different story entirely - with the words applying to both - clever stuff.

"The longer I hold on, the further I will fall"

"Meet You There" sprung from years of teaching at US Summer Camps and then using the money and connections made to travel further once the camp was over. Essentially a list song of US locations, it became a drinking game challenge, with Chloe asking for a drink to be taken for each location you may have visited.

"New Mexico" was inspired by a photograph, where sand is so white it looks like snow. Built around a reflective guitar refrain, Chloe's vocals once again were truly evocative, bringing the lyrics to life.

More literary influences would come from Ray Bradbury, for the new song "Something Wicked". It was faster paced, and allegedly went wrong - not that we'd noticed. A hilarious cheese and seagull related story prefaced the stream of consciousness that is "Everything Is Temporary", a serious song including including, skinheads and the aforementioned cheese, but more about escaping.

A slightly slowed version of "Jolene" was added as a break for those unfamiliar with Chole's work. The first set would close in the most dramatic fashion with "Damsel". Our ever travelling hostess laid on us a most heartbreaking tale, which combined, being alone in Guatamala, with a long distance relationship in the most moving of ways. A perfect combination of tune and lyric was a definite highlight of the evening.

The second half would start with a stridently strummed guitar,and a powerful vocal delivery for "Crocodile" which seemed quite dark on first listen. The new EP gave us "Bluebird", written during a darker time, with Chloe equating herself to a bird, singing yet flying off at times. A new song would appear with "White Witch Of Rose Hall" written on a visit to Jamaica which had a marvelous circuitous introduction. leading to her already having a book about Rose Hall at home. With lyrics descriptively painting the details as well as any novel, this song of multiple murders and ghosts had a deceptively cheery chorus considering the subject matter.

From the new EP came "Stay" which was co written in Nashville, with Jackson Odell, and had a lovely country lilt to it on this tale of unrequited love, "Your heart's not mine to break". Despite it's relatively low key introduction and it's position on the EP as "Bonus" track, it is quite a touching little song with Chloe trying to eek out reasons to stay longer. Should be filed under "Hidden gems!".

Adding to her collection of "Bird" related songs, came "The Sparrow & The Hawk", a dramatic powerful vocal sung over a deftly picked guitar on the verses gave way to a chorus that saw Chloe extend the word "Hawk" over many syllables. Rarely is an artist so inspired by literature, and so it was interesting to hear a song called "Maxim", as a response to the novel "Rebecca", which was equally captivating "Everybody says that his fate is coming for him".

Another track from the EP, "Same Boat" was one of the most excellent songs on the night, dealing with a long distance relationship while working on a ship. The play of words comes in the title as metaphorically they are in the same boat of being separated, rather than being on the same boat! With lots of sea related imagery, Chloe lets out an almost mournful cry after the closing line wishing that they were on the same vicinity.

More literary inspiration came via Mary Shelley's "Frankenstein", it was a change up in terms of pace and came with an intense strum and the line

"You're a little monster", relating to her own relationship creation that had gone wrong. Full of snappy lines, playing on both the book and horror genre in general has enabled Chloe to create a catchy little pop tune.

The final song of the evening would be "Indigo", a song for the daughter that she hasn't got, which came with a rarely used effect, the opening slow set up verse, before diving into a faster paced song, that describes not only this imaginary offspring but the fictional father and the life that she will go on to lead. It was an exceptional way to close out a fantastic evening with Chloe Jones who would reveal herself to be an excellent host, a literary geek but most of all a charming inventive singer songwriter. Let's hope we see her again in London before her next 30 minute Buckle & Boots slot gets offered to her.