Today, New York-based artist The Bones of J.R. Jones releases his new single “Car Crash,” which appears on his upcoming sixth studio album Radio Waves, out June 20 via Tone Tree Music. Offering a bittersweet embrace of life’s imperfections, the tender new song arrives with a dreamy live performance video that was shot inside a car driving through New York’s scenic Catskills.
Watch the Official Live Performance Video for “Car Crash”
“‘Car Crash’ was born out of the recognition, I think that we will all experience as we get older, that life/love will always be beautifully imperfect,” says The Bones of J.R. Jones (aka Jonathon Linaberry). “It’s a disaster. It’s a car crash. But something that I like to think we always yearn for. I think there is some part of us that wants it to hurt. If it does, you know it means something – and that’s all we ever really want. It’s accepting the imperfections of what’s in front of you and giving in to that.”
On the video: “I think we shot this in two takes along a rural road between Bloomville and Delhi, NY in the western Catskills. We found a good stretch of road, did a dry run and did our best not to muck it up. Hannah (the driver) was a trooper and maintained that boat of a car at about 25 mph in 55 mph zone, mainly because the engine and road noise got too loud the faster we went. We got lucky on the second take. No cars, no potholes and for the most part, a good performance. The real star of the video though was the car: a 1991 Ford Crown Victoria. It instantly reminded me of my childhood and smelled exactly like you think it should – some oddly sweet scent of nostalgia that would make you think of your grandparents. A shout out to the heroes of the day: Dave Kopach for lending us the car and to Phil Schawel for mixing my horrendously mic'ed video.”
“Car Crash” follows the “intoxicating” (Magnet Magazine) lead single “Savages" and the brooding “Shameless,” which Holler described as “Falling somewhere between the widescreen Americana of Roy Orbison and the spare, clean-limbed moody alt-rock of The National.” Radio Waves was produced by GRAMMY-nominated producer Robbie Lackritz (Feist, Bahamas), and marks Linaberry’s first time working with an outside producer. Moody and hypnotic, the 11-song collection is steeped in the sonic landscape of the ’80s and ’90s as it excavates the past with equal parts nostalgia and curiosity. Linaberry reflects, “I found myself missing what it felt like to have an album change your life, to listen to your cassette of Born In The U.S.A. so many times you have to wind the tape back up with a pencil.”
Linaberry set out to tap back into that magic on Radio Waves, writing songs steeped in the sounds and stories of his own coming of age. “These songs live in the night,” he says. “It’s the sound of a kitchen heavy with the leftover heat of an August day and a table crowded with drinks, of arguments and first loves and first heartbreaks, of not living up to your potential, of breaking promises, of being human.”
Radio Waves follows Linaberry’s critically acclaimed 2023 LP Slow Lightning, which was met with praise from American Songwriter, Glide Magazine, NYS Music and more. In March, he wrapped up his largest European tour to date with multiple sold-out shows, thanks to his dedicated following with more than 650,000 unique monthly listeners on Spotify alone. In recent years, the independent artist’s music has been used in a slew of films and television shows including True Detective, Suits, Daredevil, Longmire, and Graceland.
This spring and summer, The Bones of J.R. Jones will hit the road for an extensive U.S. tour that will make stops in New York City, Philadelphia, Nashville and many more. Below please find a full list of tour dates or visit his website.
Radio Waves Tracklist:
1. Car Crash
2. Savages
3. Heart Attack
4. Shameless
5. Catching You
6. Ghost featuring Two Runner
7. Wasting Some Time
8. Hills
9. Drive
10. The Devil
11. Start Again
Radio Waves Album Release Tour:
5/8 – Washington, DC – Pearl Street *
5/9 – New York, NY – Le Poisson Rouge *
5/10 – Ithaca, NY – Hangar Theatre
5/13 – Asheville, NC – Grey Eagle *
5/14 – Chapel Hill, NC – Local 506 *
5/15 – Charlotte, NC – Neighborhood *
5/16 – Atlanta, GA – Aisle 5 *
5/17 – Nashville, TN – Row One Stage *
6/12 – Philadelphia, PA – Johnny Brenda's +
6/13 – Boston, MA – Brighton +
6/14 – Northampton, MA – Iron Horse +
6/15 – Burlington, VT – Higher Ground +
6/17 – Montreal, QC – Bar Le Ritz +
6/18 – Ottawa, ON – Rainbow Bistro +
6/19 – Toronto, ON – Sound Garage +
6/21 – Andes, NY – Andes Hootenanny
* with Henry Stansall of Ruen Brothers
+ with Nigel Wearne
