The New Music

By looking at him, you wouldn’t expect Sean Bones to play the part of a “reggae kinda guy,” but that’s exactly what this tall, scrawny white boy has become. Sean (real last name is Sullivan) fulfils his stereotype by spending the rest of his time in slacker-ish indie band Sam Champion and he’s admitted that this solo project actually came up by accident.

With an itch to make a summery reggae record, Sean cut a 7″ for a limited S/S FRIENDS swim trunks fashion line he began with his girlfriend. Well, one thing led to another, and soon esteemed MP3 site RCRD LBL caught on, followed by Frenchkiss Records (Les Savy Fav, The Dodos), which offered to put out a full-length.

Sean describes it as “music that might cause people to scratch their heads a bit, only to realize that scratching their heads would make a good dance move.” I can’t really argue with that. My initial reaction was a jaded one, purely because the thought of some indie kid trying his hand at something as sacred as reggae seemed a bit offensive. And then I discovered that the guy actually went to Jamaica and shot a film called Wah Do Dem, about a clueless (white) loner naked, robbed and stranded in Kingston mourning a break up (with Norah Jones, no less). Now that’s an education!

While it’s nowhere near original, Sean Bones does homage with the best intentions. Rings is a soundtrack for getting drunk off Long Island iced teas and dancing till dusk. Light and breezy, sunny and carefree, what Rings does best is provide that kind of escapism for the listener that Bones so desperately sought out for himself. Single “Dancehall” perfects the kind of dubby crossover Franz Ferdinand failed to do with their recent remix album, and “Easy Street” mashes up a simple pop vibe with a credible stab at ska.

And you better believe he cashed in that connection with Norah Jones, for a sundown-perfect duet on album closer, “Turn Them.”

As refreshing and enjoyable as Rings is, more than anything, Sean Bones confirms that judging a book by its cover can make you miss out on a great thing.

Listen to it Here

Artist: Sean Bones
Album:Rings
Release Date: July 21, 2009
Label: Frenchkiss Records
Genre: Indie Reggae
Author: Cam Lindsay

Track Listing:

1. Easy Street
2. Cry Cry Cry
3. Coco
4. Act So Casual
5. Sugar In My Spoon
6. Instigator
7. Smoke Rings
8. Visions
9. Dancehall
10. Captain Tying Knots
11. Turn Them

Photo credits: Kiki Allgeier