Jon Hopper Archive

Cheltenham, UK songwriter Jon Hopper released his debut album at the age 55 - and what a debut it is, putting the lie to any notion that it's ever too late to get started on an artistic career. The Green Fuse is an earnest, shimmering display of talents - Hopper's exceptional lyric sensibility is undergirded by an infectious production, full of crisp arrangements and memorable grooves. For fans of clever, relatable songwriting this album should be on regular rotation.

SOUNDS LIKE: a radiant blend of 80's and 90's pop with lots of synths and a personality that's entirely unique - GAU readers who fell in love with Sidebanks should enjoy this record tremendously

FAVORITE TRACK: "I Love You When It Rains" is such a simple tune that it really highlights the degree of skill at play in these productions. The percussion, the layered synths, the ebb and flow of the addictive groove... you'll be singing "duh, duh, duh, duh, I love you when it rains" for the rest of your life whenever the weather turns.

THREE FAVORITE MOMENTS:

• The moment the bass groove comes in fully on the opener "Oh What a Day!" just before Hopper sings "Wake up, honey"

• The moment the silky-smooth verses of "My Beautiful Legacy" slips effortlessly into the dreamscape of the chorus is a master-stroke of emotional communication.

• In "Never Just a Tree" the stanza "in Celtic lore, the Sycamore is a symbol of protection, a space for ritual and memory, a space for connection, where we come together under a canopy of leaves and we ignore the stains that darken our sleeves"