Music Existence Because of Music, We Exist
Art frequently imitates life, and vice versa, and it’s clear from the start of the new single and music video “Two Dogs & a Rat” from singer/songwriter Michelle A. Jones that she didn’t source this story from imagination alone. There’s something very honest and unfanciful about this single; something that suggests a greater kinship with the narrative than most artists can provide us with, especially when they’re on the outside of the mainstream looking in. As far as easy-listening folk/rock goes, “Two Dogs & a Rat” is the archetype most fans will find quite pleasing this season.
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This arrangement is well balanced and made to emulate the classic singer/songwriter aesthetic of the 1970s, but I don’t think that the track as a whole feels like a throwback to the post-flower power sounds that brought forth players like John Denver, James Taylor, and Carol King just to name a few legends. “Two Dogs & a Rat” is much too modest to be an homage piece, but the areas where it does invite a little melodic excess into the fold – such as the hook and the harmonies that precede it – are necessary for us to appreciate the depth of artistry in this release.
In “Two Dogs & a Rat,” we have a quality spring ballad that has poetic capacities other singles fall short of possessing, and although Michelle A. Jones is a new face to me, she doesn’t sound like someone who I would expect to fall off the radar anytime soon – especially if she can keep the pace with what she’s just released. This is quite the smart, easy-going single and music video, and I don’t believe I’m going to be the only folk/rock fan speaking well of what Jones has been able to accomplish with it in this studio version.
Winston Hennessy III
