Tuebrook

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I am very pleased to announce the release date for ‘Tuebrook’, the follow-up to the Fretsore Records album ‘If You Can’t Forgive You Can’t Love’ from acclaimed Liverpool artist John Jenkins. Joining John on the recording is regular multi-instrumentalist and producer Jon

WHEN ORDERING THE PHYSICAL CD PLEASE DO NOT FORGET TO ADD YOUR POSTAL ADDRESS

I am very pleased to announce the release date for ‘Tuebrook’, the follow-up to the Fretsore Records album ‘If You Can’t Forgive You Can’t Love’ from acclaimed Liverpool artist John Jenkins. Joining John on the recording is regular multi-instrumentalist and producer Jon Lawton and touring and live show partner Pippa Murdie (mandolin/guitar and vocals). Recorded at Crosstown Studios in Liverpool.

John’s songs unfold cinematically and capture moments of human vulnerability, and his warm, inviting vocals tell delicate stories of the intimacy of our daily lives. More stripped back than previous releases, the power of ‘Tuebrook’ comes from John’s blend of fiction and memoir—some songs are personal and intimate with details drawn from John’s own life, others are the stuff of novels and cinema.

Praise for the “Tuebrook” Album

Americana UK “This masterful collection highlights why Jenkins is fast becoming one of Liverpool’s most respected singer-songwriters”.

Rocking Magpie “Nothing could prepare me what was about to unfold …This Album let me speechless”.

Spill Magazine Toronto Canada “One incredible Album ... Tuebrook stands out in the same way Nebraska stood out for Bruce Springsteen”.

Liverpool Acoustic “This is a fantastic album and solidifies Jenkins as a truly formidable songwriting talent”.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * * * ‘Tuebrook” is a piece of art that moves the listener, cajoles it, defends the right of the listener to feel the crush of overwhelming humanity, and then lifts with hope…this is an album for the age, and to hear it is to love it.”

Stereo Stickman 30th June 2023 A uniquely evocative collection of songs. ‘Tuebrook’ makes for a timeless and consistently heartfelt listen, and effectively extends further still the ever-genuine repertoire of John Jenkins.

Fatea Magazine July 2023 “At times warmly nostalgic but without rose-tinted glasses, at others movingly sad, it’s an album for those of a certain age who have come to look back on their own younger days and those with whom they shared them, and as such, it’s a little gem”

At The Barrier Magazine Aug 2023 “Some of the warmest and most intimate, wistful, confessional reveries that you’re likely to hear this side of Christmas”.

Welcomed early this year was the first single ‘Shadows,’ an intimate reflective song on towns and communities that have fallen by the wayside over the course of years.

“And all the places I cared about the most are no longer there.”

It was followed by the second single ‘Christopher Roberts’.

“‘Christopher Roberts’ is a gently compelling song that engages right from the beginning, thanks to the inclusion of actual and spoken recording from Jenkins’ childhood. Then, his delicate strum and understated vocal feel absorbingly intimate.” Americana UK

‘Tuebrook’ takes inspiration from the Americana and Liverpudlian songbooks. With influences from John Prine to The Beatles, and Mary Chapin Carpenter to Townes Van Zandt, the album highlights once again why John has received so much admiration for his songs.

John says “Tuebrook is an area in Liverpool that I spent a lot of time in when I was young. My Church, both infant and junior school (St. Cecilia’s), my dentist, doctor, the nearest shops, pubs, and friends were all in Tuebrook.

“I should point out from the offset that this album is not ‘Tuebrook the Musical,’ only about half the songs were written with Tuebrook in mind. I generally write story songs about fictitious people and places like a novelist would. As a songwriter, it was quite interesting for me to reach deep within myself and write about people I know or knew.”

‘43 and Counting’ is written from the perspective of a woman who wanted children but whose partner did not and has now left her for a younger woman. She is now at an age when meeting someone new and having children is going to be very hard.

‘Idaho’, with themes of tragedy and the struggle to overcome, uses a traditional melody to John’s storytelling lyric.

‘William’ is a song about a childhood friend who fell to drink and was unable at times to control his addiction even with everyone’s support and prayers. Emotional and heartbreaking, John reaches deeply into his soul to relate this sad tale.

“I had a lot of new songs I had been working on in Crosstown Studios and I had been asked so many times to release a stripped-back album without the usual pyrotechnics of some of the earlier album songs” states Jenkins. “Even though quite a few songs on the surface are autobiographical I am sure a lot of people can relate to some of the stories and emotions the songs speak about.”

‘Tuebrook’ is the lyrical soundtrack to people growing old and thinking about their past, family, friends, and places they once lived in.

‘Tuebrook’ is co-produced by John Jenkins and Jon Lawton (Sami Yusuf, Ian Prowse, Only Child) and mastered by Pete Maher (The Rolling Stones, U2, Patti Smith). The album is available from the usual digital retailers or as a physical CD.

John will be touring the UK with Pippa Murdie in support of the ’Tuebrook’ Album.

Acclaim for ‘If You Can’t Forgive You Can’t Love’

“5 Stars” - Liverpool Acoustic

“Super, Stunning Even” - Stereo Stickman “A splendid collection, 13 really powerful tracks” - Ralph McLean – BBC Radio Ulster "One of the strongest and best albums of this year" – Spill Magazine “A varied collection of strong songs that repays repeated plays” – Americana UK “Inspirational and highly recommended” – FATEA “His refreshing lyrical accuracy continues across the record, musical and thoughtful…” – R’n’R Magazine

More on John Jenkins

The ex-Persuaders and Come in Tokio man - a veteran of John Peel sessions and 80s post-punk - is carving out a path for himself as a renowned singer/songwriter on the UK folk, country, and Americana scene. Jenkins is a master of melody, understated lyrics, and deft chord changes, while his songs have been hailed wherever music is written about.