The album closes with the beautiful ‘Rain’ and ‘Too Old to Cry, Too Young to Die’ wistfully tugging at heartstrings and touching memories long filed away. It’s the perfect end to a great release and one that should cheer the hearts of not just From The Jam fans but anyone with a love of truly good music. An album filled with sublime moments and a raw, yet well tempered, passion. **** The majestic Lula was the first single from the album, and the one that we had an early preview to during the making of the album on social media. It was lovely to witness this as part of the live set in Dorking and it undoubtedly deserves its place in the show. It has been described by Russell as “A catchy pop song about a spoilt woman who seemingly has everything yet has nothing.” and you could hear this becoming a singalong favourite in time too.

With a touch of the Beatles, some R&B and the hard-edged swagger of their own band, opener ‘Electronic Lover’ hits things running, then ‘Feet Off the Ground’ turns things on their head with its beautifully chilled and Summery feel.The Batman theme sparks up and then the band come on ripping straight into Away from the Numbers and Strange Town. Just brilliant!. The energy on stage is felt throughout the crowd which is soon pogoing along to an incredible live sound.

Russell: Punk as we know it doesn’t exist anymore in my opinion, so I guess it’s up to the next generation to answer that. The Butterfly Effect’ marks the third joint album the pair have done together and it’s a delicious stroll through their joint record collection, tipping a hat to the artists that have influenced them whilst remaining true to their own creative wanderings. Hearing the cool, jazzy ‘Wanted’ and the constantly shifting ‘Circles’ can’t but help to bring a warm smile to even the most cynical of hearts. Whilst ‘Time on Your Side’ doesn’t quite hit the mark, it’s the only slight dip and the throbbing ‘Two of Us’ more than makes up for this, it’s Quadrophenia atmosphere full of the end of the Summer of Love and fisticuffs on Brighton beach. What was once familiar will always come round again, only this time with an edge to it that will the reminisces feeling overwhelmed, and the new sound embracing the time-honoured as if it was a frequent visitor that had all the answers to the questions being asked. Bruce Foxton and Russell Hastings team up once again to release their third album together The Butterfly Effect.Bruce: No, if the band is committed and if there is a demand, why not? Not just purely for money, though. Since early 2020 Josh has been entertaining us with exclusive monthly live sessions, streamed via Facebook. Bruce: Russ and myself have a lot of ideas but it’s getting the time to develop them that we’re short of! You can’t get much better than an encore that features Tube Station, Ghosts, The Eton Rifles, Going Underground and Beat Surrender can you?.

Bruce Foxton and Russell Hastings, a pairing that defies the time between, a recognised brilliance that in every way possible is captured eternally thanks to the wings of The Butterfly Effect.Circles would be the closest to what many would consider to be the traditional ‘sound of The Jam’ (if such a thing exists). A blistering-pop-anthem with angry guitars and it’s a song that you could immediately imagine sounded loud, fast and fierce in a live setting with the energy of the band dialled up to the max. From The Jam to working alongside a captivating frontman. This is establishment of the genius that Bruce Foxton has come to signify, and in his partnership with Russell Hastings has flourished accordingly, and the strength of their time together on stage has only enhanced what is evident in their new album, The Butterfly Effect. Electric Lover has a real Beatles edge to it, circa the 1969 Abbey Road days, with a funky psychedelic vibe and even a bit of 70s soul thrown in for good measure, with the piano and Hammond organ really lifting you up as the lyrics sweep you along. Great bass playing by Bruce as always and Russell’s voice sounds so much like – Russell’s! We are always saying how Russell sounds remarkably like Paul Weller when performing with From the Jam, but when he performs his own material, his voice really comes into its own and can be appreciated in its own right. It’s true he naturally has Weller intonations, but his voice really has a soulful magic of its own.

Unable to tour during the pandemic, Russell has stated that having time to record was “quite a relief… We, like everybody else, were concerned about the future and were glad when we were allowed to get in the studio”, with Bruce adding that the process was “extremely creative and fun.” Being known as an active touring band, From The Jam obviously could not tour during the pandemic. However, Hastings has stated that having time to record was ‘quite a relief … We, like everybody else, were concerned about the future and were glad when we were allowed to get in the studio’, with Foxton adding that the process was ‘extremely creative and fun.’ Bruce Foxton and Russell Hastings team up once again to release their third album together ‘ The Butterfly Effect’ out October 28th. Russell: Erm, I don’t know, because I’ve never been anything else. Maybe I would be working on property restoration now, as I enjoy all aspects of that and I’m good at it. In 2006, former Jam member Bruce Foxton performed on stage with the Gift, and later joined the band permanently as bassist; at this point the group changed its name to From the Jam.From 2 January we’ll be featuring significant albums reviewed 2003-2023 in our featured album sequences as part of GRTR!@20 From the eye-catching artwork (guitar plectrums and strings cleverly positioned as butterflies in the striking blue and red vinyl colourways), this album oozes class and style, and I’m pleased to say that the music is as vibrant and colourful as the album cover. It brings us 12 great melodic songs spanning different musical genres and styles, from the psychedelic 60s to country and western, 70s soul, jazz and strings, along with a good dose of early Jam punk-inspired attitude.