Reviewed by The Beat Magazine’s Ian Gifford
When I agreed to start doing reviews for The Beat Magazine, I knew that I wanted to review some new up-and-coming bands’ records in the future, but I also knew that some had been out for a while, and that I felt needed more attention. So, in the future, you can expect a mixed bag. All of the reviews will be local within a certain catchment, which basically means bands that you can expect to see live in London regularly.
As a musician and sound guy, most of these people are friends and colleagues of mine, so there will be some bias, but I am here to promote and not to tear down. When I wrote for ID magazine (Guelph) in the 1990s, I admit, I could be a scathing critic, but that is no longer part of my voice as a writer. My job is to make you aware of local music you may not have heard about yet and give you a reason to discover it for yourself. If you want to criticize after that, well, you’re on your own. The following review is for someone I consider a dear friend, if not a “brother from another mother”, Brent Jones, and his latest album, The Truth Window.
(Pictured: Brent Jones. Photo Credit Belinda J. Clements Photography)
Brent Jones is well-known in the London area as a singer-songwriter, session musician (piano), engineer, and producer. In recent years, he has transformed his family’s old barn into a unique multi-purpose venue that he shares with the community at large. Over this past year, he has been releasing and promoting his newest project, which has been touted as part 2 in an eventual trilogy of releases.
A conceptual six-song piece with a total run time of 36 minutes, The Truth Window contains themes of war, revolution, death, destruction, rebuilding, healing, and ultimately, the value of love. The recurring mentions of soldiers and battles are likely metaphorical references to the cycle of life itself, which would seem natural to the author, who spends a large part of his time on the family farm.
The lyrics throughout the album are cleverly disguised references to life experience and personal growth, throughout the good and bad times in our lives, as well as the idea that we never go through these “battles” truly alone. From the first song, “Turbulent Flow” which may describe family that grows and falls together through the seasons of our existence, to the very last strains that ask, “What if loving was the key to our survival?”, The Truth Window feels like the original revelation, down to the final resolution of a personal epiphany for the artist in question.
There are lines all over this record that read like ancient quotes from the greatest philosophers and theologians alike, for example, “The space of history will turn the lens a shade of rose” or “Don’t you know that the smell of victory is sweeter with a bloody nose?” both from “Good Soldier”. I have to wonder also if the title “Alms of Harvest” may be tied to the scriptures of Leviticus 19:9-10, which commands the leaving of the edges of your farmers’ fields to the poor and the travelers of the world and neighbouring communities (described in the texts as aliens or foreigners).
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9 When you reap the harvest of your land, do not reap to the very edges of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest. 10 Do not go over your vineyard a second time or pick up the grapes that have fallen. Leave them for the poor and the foreigner. I am the Lord your God.
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The Truth Window almost feels, at times, like an autobiography for Brent. Here’s a man who has the privilege of watching the cycle of life on an annual, if not daily, basis. The song “October Surprise” feels like the most personal statement on the album when it says, “You better make it count, boy!”, as if Brent is reflecting on the gifts he’s been given and how he can give back to the universe. Just how has he given back? Well, he created Quiet Earth, which is the venue on the farm that hosts concerts and weddings, plus a wide variety of other community-minded events that give, in the songs’ refrain, “Voices to the voiceless, choices to the choiceless, [and] noises to the noiseless.”
Check out this clip about the new Rogers TV Live from Quiet Earth Series. https://www.facebook.com/share/v/17k9G6Sfyp/
We live at war with time, and it is not always about how we approach the battles as much as who we approach them with. I personally have a unique perspective on this, having been a past band member with Brent (Pete Denomme and the Cosmic Cowboys), as well as having been involved with production for shows at Quiet Earth. I’ve discovered that every single show always begins and ends with the same thing. Love.
By that I mean love of self, love of friends, love of family, love of music, love of life, but ultimately the love of community. The Truth Window encourages us to not just look out our windows at the world by itself, but also to see our own reflection as it blends in with the images we see in the passing seasons. It encourages us to not look at the barren fields in winter with a sense of mourning but with love.
The album was recorded partly in the UK at Peter Gabriel’s Real World Studios, which inspires awe and envy in most musicians I’ve ever told that to, as well as being recorded here in Canada at Brent’s home studio in Dorchester, Ontario. It was mixed and mastered by the award-winning engineer/producer Stuart Bruce (Loreena McKennitt and more) and features vocals by his life partner and collaborator, Jennifer Crook. Another notable contributor is popular Canadian singer/songwriter Emm Gryner, as well as a diverse cast of musicians from the London, Ontario area.
While this music has been publicly available for almost a year to the day of this writing, the actual vinyl LP was released this past summer (June 29th, 2025) with a theatrical and musical performance at Quiet Earth, directed by London’s John Pacheco with a four-person crew of regional actors.
Now this is where the bias comes in, I FREAKIN’ LOVE this album! From the moment Brent put the CD in my hands, I knew so much about the process to that point that I was convinced it would be a masterpiece, and in my mind, it is nothing short of that. It is never overbearing in its messaging or arrangements and production. There is enough air between the words and notes that allow you to experience your own emotions and never force feeds you on how to feel. When its last notes ring out, all I can feel is that which can never be overstated, an overwhelming sense of love.
Rating: 5 out of 5 Stars. Be sure to listen to it as a full album for full appreciation. It is a complete piece of art! Recommended if you like progressive pop like Peter Gabriel, Elbow, Tears for Fears, Kate Bush, and more.
Purchase The Truth Window here: https://quietearthca.bandcamp.com/album/the-truth-window
For more information about Quiet Earth, visit https://quietearth.ca/
Follow Brent Jones on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/thebrentjones
Reviewed by Ian Gifford.
The Beat Magazine 2025 