Jim Jonze Turns Accountability Into Sound on “Burning Bridges”
After a soft, calm guitar solo breaks at the 0:15 mark, with a burst of instruments crashing in without warning, it becomes impossible to pull your attention away from “Burning Bridges,” the new single from singer, songwriter, and musician Jim Jonze.
Although his career developed quietly, playing in Arizona bars in the ’90s and later as the owner of old-school analog studios, his mastery is clear in this track, a rock offering that recalls the best bands from the end of the last century and their visceral, organic, and raw approach.
Initially titled “Prologue,” the song was conceived as an opening for his upcoming EP. After several conceptual dead ends, Jim used the foundation and the core idea of “Bridges” to build a different piece, one that ultimately resonated with him.
“This is a song of change and growth. It is a song of acknowledgment of past failures. It is an acknowledgment of accepting people's views of you and knowing that you had everything to do with it. It is a song of moving on, regardless of others,” he said.
After years of moving between projects that never saw the light of day and long, intense stretches working in studios, Jonze found in this process the compass that now guides his current sound. In his youth, he was part of Arizona’s underground scene, where he led bands such as Jim Jones and The Tempters and The Vices, sharing the stage with icons like The Skatalites and Guitar Wolf. Those years left a deep imprint on his writing. It shows a direct approach, unfiltered rawness, and a total devotion to performance as a spiritual act.
Later, his path took him to Portland, where he joined another musical project, The Hooves. The rest of his professional life unfolded among consoles, cables, and tape reels, as the owner of analog studios that defended a philosophy of recording without excessive corrections or polish that might dilute emotion. The pandemic changed everything, and the studio was forced to close.
Today, far from the 1990s but with the same disruptive spirit, Jonze approaches his work with a more conscious and rigorous approach. At 52, he acknowledges that age matters, not as a limitation, but as a source of clarity. His writing and sound are exactly where they need to be.
This is why he’s currently working on three additional singles that will be part of an EP titled “Extended Play,” a project that will pave the way for a full-length album and a future solo tour before assembling a stable band for a larger run.
In that context, “Burning Bridges” works as a threshold. It is the piece that distills the weight of the years, the creative doubts, the failed attempts, and the emotional persistence that have sustained his path. It is also the affirmation of an artist who, far from rejecting his past, turns it into fuel.