Description

“I Made This for You” is the fourth release from Jon Janes of The Mountains and the Trees. Jon has been incredibly busy over the last number of years with multiple Canadian and European tours, showcases at some of folk music’s most highly regarded festivals and building on an international fan-base that continues to grow. This is easily Jon’s most adventurous record to date. It sees him playing and experimenting with a wide variety of instruments, sounds and arrangements that are unique in his catalogue. “I Made This for You” had the distinction of being named one of Exclaim! magazine’s top 10 folk/roots albums of 2010 and deservedly so. Jon blends folk, pop, Americana and roots with new forms of digital effects, creating interesting soundscapes to underlay his soft-spoken, earnest, autobiographical songwriting. The album, fittingly, is full of sonic peaks and valleys. The album opening track, “Fear of Ghosts” starts quietly and unassuming with a single guitar and Jon’s warm and understated vocal. He sings nostalgically about growing up in a small town and the song captures that dream-like reminiscence wonderfully. Half way in, the song explodes into a symphonic march, joyous and steady. Tubas, glockenspiels, horns, guitar, drums, bass and keys, chime together to give the song an anthemic lift. This wall of sound is new territory for Janes and it symbolizes a growth and willingness to let tunes grow organically. The record is lovely and continues to gain critical notice in Canada and beyond. It is a new sound in folk, current but familiar. It is