The Third Eye

Welcome to the wonderful and frightening world of Austin Leonard Jones. That’s how the freak folky Texan who’s currently at large in California introduces himself on Bandcamp, and that feels very apropos. Austin’s newest record, At The Polo Club, was released in December 2023 via the excellent Perpetual Doom, an album recorded in Hollywood filled with country storytelling.

We’re told the album’s reference points include Buck Sings Eagles, Henry Flynt, and John Denver’s tragic life. Ever the crooner, Austin’s cheeky ballads are a bit twisted and morbid, but they’re always amusing. I read that Austin is the son of famous actor Tommy Lee Jones, but he doesn’t let that tall shadow be cast too far on him. The country-flavored stylings on At The Polo Club feel familiar but still very bold and original from the get-go, as Austin blends fact with fiction in his songwriting, and you’re apt to get them mixed up.

“Lonesome Train Dreams” is a highlight. It’s an instrumental that chugs along the countryside for eleven-plus minutes and has a title that evokes the Denis Johnson novella Train Dreams. Speaking of Denis, this album seems like something the incredible late American novelist would’ve loved. “Dust on the Drugs” is another excellent track, with an upbeat tempo and that god-damned tasty pedal steel playing.

“John Denver Alone At Home Depot” may be the best song simply for the title. Imagining old John alone and confused, wandering the garden section of the local Home Depot is quite the mental image. I don’t know much about John Denver besides how he got high in the Rocky Mountains, but as Perpetual Doom alludes, he apparently had a tragic life. A pilot with over 2,700 hours of experience, Denver died in 1997 at the age of 53 in a single-fatality crash of a recently bought light plane.

At The Polo Club ends with Austin’s gentle acoustic guitar strumming on “Civil Dusk,” punctuated by the saxophone of Nick Flessa. It ends a fun album perfect for other Perpetual Doom freak folksters like Lee Baggett, Tommy and The Ohs, and Blind Dead Timmy.

If you like At The Polo Club, check out other releases from Austin Leonard Jones, including At Folsom Prison (Live), recorded in July 2023 in Joshua Tree, California, and his 2022 LP Dead Calm. Enjoy!

Check out At The Polo Club by Austin Leonard Jones on Bandcamp here.

Support Austin Leonard Jones by finding him on Bandcamp, his website, or Facebook.

You can support Perpetual Doom Records by finding them on Bandcamp, their official website, or social media (Instagram, Twitter, YouTube). You can also support Perpetual Doom on Patreon and get some exclusive goodies and the occasional Bandcamp codes.

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