Durand Jones

On his debut solo album, Wait Til I Get Over, Durand Jones lays us several courses and flavors of sound that are all distinctly Southern and Black—rhythms heavy with raw, Delta grit; bright exhalations of church spirituals; even tender, cadent spoken word. Throughout, Jones shows us he’s not afraid to get his hands dirty, enduring with a concept until it takes the proper form.

Lead single “Lord Have Mercy” is reminiscent of Muscle Shoals—unconstrained, defiant, and thoroughly precise. In the title track, Jones resurrects vintage Gospel composition to provide us something new but familiar. Based loosely on a “Lining Hymn” style, Jones tried to embody and emulate specific members of his hometown choir—mentors and keepers of this specific musical tradition—as he sang through every choral section himself. It’s a tactile approach and a visceral success, stomping louder and louder until synths set the song alight, illustrating the refrain “I’ll hitch on my wings, and then I’ll try the air”.

As one of the singers and principle songwriters of Durand Jones and the Indications, Jones’s professional creative efforts have been, for the most part, in aggregate. On Wait Til I Get Over, Jones leans into the vulnerability of his singular perspective, delivering something utterly distilled and potent. Taken as a whole, Wait Til I Get Over is a mesmerizing new addition to Southern Black music, affirming Jones as a uniquely gifted artist and vanguard of the form.