FULL REVIEW HERE

As the tag-line suggests this is hardly the Kings of Leon. Jon Thorne (ex of jazzy chill-outers 'Lamb') and Danny Thompson (a double bassist so revered he collected a BBC Radio 2 lifetime achievement aware in 2007) are experienced musicians with a keen ear for space. This is the kind of music where the gaps between the notes are almost as important as the notes themselves and if that admittedly pretentious explanation puts you off in any way chances are this will not be for you. For the rest of us however 'Watching The Well' is a beguiling treat separated into 3 distinct 'movements' that demands repeat listens.

The album plays out like a haunted dream as wisps of brass and gentle, brushed drums share space with Thompson's dramatic and surprisingly spindly bass work. Over everything aching strings and heavily effected guitars wrap delicate melodies around each other, ducking and diving between moments of euphoria and naked melancholy. As daunting a journey as the record might sound on paper it's actually an incredibly pleasant experience,

The real meat of the record is in the first movement 'The Light That Guides', a guitar centric piece with some beautiful choral accompaniment. It's a wonderful, subtly moving composition which is off-set beautifully by the more mournful and contemplative 'Generous Heart' and the final 'Tie That Binds' which aptly ties the record together in it's final act as motifs and ideas from the whole album finally resolve.

It'll be a tough listen for those not used to 'this kind of thing' and it might be a little too gentle for real jazz affectionados but 'Watching The Well' is an encouraging stab (by two men who really know their stuff) at bringing jazz and classical music into the modern age without making it sound like the aural equivalent of watching your dad dance at a wedding.