The Birthday Suit

While his band Idlewild is on hiatus, guitarist/songwriter Rod Jones is keeping busy. His The Birthday Suit band’s The Eleventh Hour is a wonderfully melodic rock & roll record and not far off from Idlewild music.

The term “the eleventh hour,” is a colloquial expression that means “a time which is nearly too late.” It’s said to have originated in the Bible, the book of Matthew to be exact, where workmen are referenced as being hired late in the day. However, there is nothing particularly religious or apocalyptic about these songs. Instead, they’re mostly just a bunch of heartfelt rock & roll tunes.

Some of these songs, such as “Are You Ok?,” are folk-y and jaunty little tunes. The album’s best song is “A Nation,” which sounds like a relationship work, lyrically, yet appears to be presented in geo-political, nationalistic terms. When Jones sings, “Everything you wanted/I tried to give to you/And everything you needed/Was more than I could do,” it simply breaks your heart. The song also finds Jones admitting, “There’s nothing more to say.” It’s the sound of one man giving up, even though he doesn’t really want to quite yet.

“Don’t Look Down” is much more encouraging. It celebrates people, where their “heads are in the clouds.” The admonition to avoid looking down is one that suggests that folks should enjoy life while the going’s good. If you look down, you’ll forget how beautiful it is at the top.

While Jones is a guitarist, this is by no means strictly a guitarist’s album. Instead, it’s more of a singer/songwriter album with some wonderful accompanying electric guitar work. If you love Idlewild, you’ll likely love The Birthday Suit just as much. It’s not some indulgent solo project. Rather, it’s a joyous continuation of the sorts of sounds we’ve come to love with Idlewild.