After three stellar solo albums and a fourth with his indie collective The Squids, prolific Northwest singer-songwriter Dan Jones has put together a new combo: The Golden Motors. On this debut blast of postpunk rock, the songcraft is up front, the guitars are loud, and multiple decades of underground rock are jammed into one psychedelic punky-garage rock and roll tour-de-force. SST bands, 60's pop, the twining lines of Crazy Horse, the open tune folk-drone of Sonic Youth and midwest alt-rock–it's all here on yet another great record penned by Eugene, Oregon's prolific, under-the-radar gem, released on his own label, Daily Records.
In 2010, Jones appeared on Jealous Butcher's acclaimed Led Zeppelin tribute From The Land of Ice and Snow, then released an e.p. with Eugene folk-rocker Peter Wilde, My Name Is John Smith, produced by Chris Funk (The Decemberists). Catalyzed by bass player Dan Schmid (Cherry Poppin' Daddies, Black Francis) and driven by half of Eugene's beloved hardcore outfit Pass Out Kings (Scott K on guitar and Jivan Valpey on drums), The Motors deliver Jones' songs in their heaviest incarnation yet. The band's first year included local bills with postpunk legends Mike Watt and Calvin Johnson as well as newcomers like Telekenisis and Boats. 2011 also saw the band reincarnating for stripped down acoustic shows with The Golden Motors new drummer Mike Last, performing as the The Golden Motors Acoustic Three.
Portland's Willamette Week has declared Jones "the most clever and ingratiating pop-rock singer-songwriter under the summer sun" and that "any given verse of his songs packs more wit than a roomful of singer-songwriters could muster in a month of open mikes." Online and in print his music has drawn comparisons to Robyn Hitchcock, Neil Young, Daniel Johnston, Guided By Voices, The Minutemen, and "solo Pete Townshend meets '69-era Velvet Underground" (Steve Wynn). Folk-rocker and acoustic virtuoso Willy Porter says Jones is "one of the greatest songwriters in the world." "Deliciously melding influences like Roger Miller, Lou Reed, Husker Du, The Meat Puppets, and Steve Earle," said John James in his Positively Yeah Yeah Yeah column, "Jones' wit and chops are electric, haunting, spontaneous, and fun."
