Noah Jones debuts his solo project with the new and ephemeral single, “Taxes.” Released 2/19/24, “Taxes” boasts composition, lyrics, writing, and instrumentation from Noah Jones- alongside some pearly production from Jay Hurtt VI.
The track opens with eerily comforting harmonies and a dazzle of keys before a funky drum beat sets the song to motion.
Within the chamber of keys and swirling psychs, Jones sings, “get a job, pay your taxes, and marry your heart.” He manages to make the mundane sound anything but, and there’s a kernel of wisdom amidst the Wonder-esque callbacks and other signature sounds from The Psycodelics.
As the track builds and blends, we’re showered with an array of diverse instrumentation from interesting percussion to strange synths. You can get lost in it all as Jones sings, “People come and they go / cogs in the machine.” He continues, “see what matters to most / doesn’t matter at all to me.”
It’s a brilliant beginning to what I hope is a long journey and I’m eager to see what’s next for the young artist. “Taxes” has only been out a day, and I’ve had it in heavy rotation- adding up to a dozen plays already. I have a hard time believing I’ll ever get tired of it- the chorus melody shares the lightest resemblance to the timeless track “Killing Me Softly With His Song”- so yeah, I don’t think this track’s ever gonna lose its luster.
Hell yeah brother! Noah Jones is a Charleston treasure. I’ve loved watching him evolve over the past few years and now he’s widely recognized as one of the most talented people to call Charleston home. Well deserved.
Every time he’s on the stage the collective talent is elevated, and its clear that all the musicians also love playing with him. He can write songs, he can improvise, and he has fun doing it.
This song is so cool and so fun for me in so many ways. I love that Noah’s singing. It’s bouncy and punchy (love the drums) The sound is almost whimsical with the pop-synths and the production is really bad ass. The effect on the vocals give me this feeling of like a spotlight in my brain shining on Noah Jones the “person” rather than “the player” . There’s vulnerability in his voice, and wisdom in his words.
