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...His is a folk that has contemporary equals in artists like M. Ward, Iron & Wine, and Will Oldham. "Nothing`s Bound", though, is a waltz-y acoustic folk number that has the subtle flavor of Ray Davies and Paul Simon in its delivery. Moody, sparse and dark just below candlelight, Cutrufello`s songs are somewhat quirky only so in subtle ways, and mostly in the lyrics. Although there is nothing subtle about the slide whistle that accompanies the jaunty piano number "Writing Letters In The Morning". This is not your average musical poetry. - Robinson, Miles Of Music Philadelphia based Hezekiah Jones, weaves his musical quilt out of the same soft, acoustic cloth most recently and elegantly spun by the likes of Sam Beam and Will Oldham. While warm and inviting, Hezekiah pokes and stirs up darker lyrical truths adding a textual spoonful of sugar to make his unique brand of medicine go down. - Aquarium Drunkard Raphael Cutrufello's tender first outing as Hezekiah Jones sounds like a moody old folk 33 that's been made aware of today's lo-fi scene but opts out of the irony. The immediate--and correct--comparison is to Leonard Cohen, who played ancient world-weariness as both timeless and modern. - C|Net, Editor's Pick What is it about a solitary guitar and one singer's voice that can so easily conjure up a vivid feeling, tangible and moving? Or at least it can when the singer/songwriter in question has a true knack for such things, as Raphael Cutrufello, singer/songwriter for Hezekiah Jones clearly does. "Agnes of the World," the first song on Hezekiah Says You're A-OK is one such solitary jewel, his singing and playing immediately time-stopping. At first his lyrics seem oblique, but then it hits that he's pondering where someone from his past ended up: Agnes of the world / where have you landed?" Other songs throughout the album are even more delicate and lovely-sounding, while just as good at containing a particular emotion, scene, or story….and doing so in a not-so-ordinary way, more subtle and less simplistic than many of his peers. "Albert Hash" tells a common tale (working man turns to drink due to life's hardness) in an uncommon way, almost resembling a bedtime story in some way. "Postpone" is a beautiful folk ode to a departed lover. "Nothing's Bound" matches that same description, actually, though it has its own distinct feeling about it. Which is the general charm of this album, I suppose, that every song makes its mark on you, in its own way, even as they all hang together stylistically under one enchanting mood. Every time I listen another lyric stands out for the first time, yet every time I listen Cutrufello's voice and the overall atmosphere – sad yet sweet – is also instantly comforting. – Dave Heaton, Erasing Clouds ...a real testament to the beauty of subtlety. Featuring little more than strummed acoustic guitar and vocals throughout (augmented only momentarily by improvised percussion and piano) it’s hardly complex stuff – brilliantly understated, gentle and observant, and thankfully uncluttered by self-consciousness and misplaced optimism. - Music-News.com ...an intimate and slightly unsettling performance. The songs sound like they were written during a hot and sticky summer, they have such an unhurried quality, but there is the sort of edginess that you might expect from a man on the brink. The highpoints are “Albert Hash” and “Circumstance”, both of which sound like a more cheerful Elliott Smith. Hezekiah Says You’re A-OK gives off the warm glow of a smile, but you suspect that behind the smile all is not well in |
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