⭐ “John Jenkins is not only prolific but also superbly talented at capturing the human condition in all its guises.”
“A terrific album, right up there with his best, and John Jenkins goes from strength to strength in all that he turns his many talents toward”
https://www.lonesomehighway.com/music-reviews/2025/9/22/new-album-reviews
John Jenkins Restless Hearts
An experienced maven in the art of songwriting and communicating emotion in his music, with a deft touch that pulls on the heartstrings of our sensitivities. His back catalogue began in 2016 with the release of TRAINS, and he followed this in 2017 with WINDOW SHOPPING IN NASHVILLE. In 2019 Jenkins formed the James Street Band and released LOOKING FOR THAT AMERICAN DREAM, and into 2020 GROWING OLD (Songs From My Porch) appeared. TUEBROOK was released in 2023, a very personal album concerning his formative years in Liverpool, followed in 2024 by THE REASON AND OTHER SONGS. WEARY also appeared that same year, a six-song EP issued to whet the appetite, before this 2025 release RESTLESS HEARTS. Quite an impressive back catalogue and John Jenkins is not only prolific but also superbly talented at capturing the human condition in all its guises. I certainly need to add to my personal collection of his music and Jenkins never fails to deliver when it comes to insightful and inspiring music.
This time out we have twelve songs to enjoy and the jaunty opener Cruel Wind sings about regrets and not being able to hide from the mistakes of the past, even as the musicians kick up a very inviting storm in the ensemble playing. Indeed, this track is a marker for what is to come with the craftsmanship of Mikey Kenney (fiddle), Scott Poley (dobro/pedal steel), Chris Howard (piano), Phil Chisnall (resonator guitar), Pippa Murdie (mandolin, cello, and backing vocals), and Jon Lawton (various guitars and bass) excelling at every turn.
John Jenkins has a very warm vocal tone and he sings almost like he’s sharing an intimate secret between friends; quietly reflective in the delivery and perfectly captured on the track The Disappearance and the tale of a wife who is no longer traceable, giving all concerned pause for thought as to why she felt compelled to leave. Again, on Too Many Roads the band deliver an engaging melody and tempo on a song about hard times and the choices made in order to try and get ahead.
Pippa Murdie shares lead vocal on Colorado In the Spring and it is a highlight among many great moments on the album, with the atmospheric pedal steel of Scott Poley and the superb fiddle of Mikey Kenney really lifting the arrangement. There is an echo on some songs that reminds me of the Waterboys circa their Fisherman’s Blues album, and tracks like I Didn’t Really Want To Change the World and Cruel World fit into that spontaneous celebratory sound of the ensemble in full flight..
Sound Of Thunder is the longest track included here and is a reflective look at a life lived and the frustrations that haunt in memories of the past; the acoustic strum of guitars blending with piano, dobro and pedal steel in another standout moment. The emigrant tale on Brooklyn is nicely observed and delivered, with The Not Knowing also occupying similar space of displacement and looking for escape of sorts ‘Such a long long way to where he thinks he’s going, Such a long long way from where he thinks he’s been.’
Spent the Night In Austin is a story song about youthful travels that capture a feeling that no matter where you go, you can never get away from your inner reflections and thoughts. Never Needed Much looks into the solitary life of a character who resisted change in his habits and lived a simple life. The straight up Country swing of The Man Who Breaks Your Heart is a refreshing twirl on a dancefloor and Farthings Wood closes proceedings with a quiet acoustic guitar strum and a love song that soothes the spirit. A terrific album, right up there with his best, and John Jenkins goes from strength to strength in all that he turns his many talents toward.
Paul McGee