Growing up in Salt Spring Island, much of Bodhi Jones’ “folk-sensibility” was cultivated at an early age. After moving to Vancouver, the shy and withdrawn, budding musician felt lonely and sought out music for comfort. It is precisely because of this comfort, Jones began composing music. Releasing several EPs and full-lengths and performing at a variety of venues, Jones quickly gained much media attention from local radio stations and publication organizations such as The Peak and The Georgia Straight. As Jones’ string of notoriety grew, his creative momentum kept going as well. His latest creation Where Does The Time Go? is another heart-felt LP packed with poetic sensitively and it will be released in September of 2010.

As a whole, Where Does The Time Go? is very polished and clean in its production. Jones’ song writing is straightforward and unpretentious. But the most lovable quality about the songs of this upcoming LP is that lyrics, through which Jones’ delivers with soulful and yearning vocals, are expressive and relatable. For instance, the song “Oh Father” is written in series of short confession from a man to his father (perhaps it’s even safe to speculate that these confessions are directly from Jones to his father, considering that his primary care-giver had always been his mother.). Jones is not only truthful in that he’s not afraid to address the common issue of strained family relationship through his music, but he is also unabashedly open about his sensitivity.

Jones, like almost every other artist in history, is also inspired by the subject of love. While the song “Where Do We Go from Here?” seems to convey the senses of hopefulness and uncertainty of a romantic relationship, the track “Love of Mine” on the other hand harbors sentiments of regret and sorrow. Jones also finds inspiration in singing about the struggle of those who work routine and mundane jobs to make ends meet. The song “Work the Night Shift” is reminiscent of old school folk rock wherein the singer recants a first-person experience of a blue-collar workingman. With so many tracks filled with personal reveries, Where Does the Time Go? can be regarded as a musical autobiography. And the most apparent evidence of that claim can be found in the song “Blood, Sweat n Tears” in which Jones’ reveals to the listeners that all of his past efforts have finally paid off.

As listenable as Where Does The Time Go? is, the songs on it however, aren’t the most artistically profound.  In comparison to other independent singer-songwriters, some of Jones’ song writing lack originality and is somewhat simplistic in structure and meaning, which makes Jones’ songs far less memorable. Furthermore, the majority of the songs have a succinct format of which the chorus is always the “catchiest” part of the songs. This may create commercial appeal but it snuffs out a lot of soul and creativity. For example, the verse melodies in “I Wish You Well” are monotonous and unchanged throughout the entire song while the choruses are exceptionally slowed down and emphatically repetitive.

Nevertheless, Where Does The Time Go? is an enjoyable album with much potential. It portrays a rich and alluring personal story that may not appeal to everybody but certainly will spark the interest of those who are seeking for music worth listening to.

Written By: Xuan Wang