At 25 Joshua James might still be considered a youngster, but his third album Build Me This shows far more life experience than his birth certificate shows.
Opener Coal War is a rhythm straight out of the Paul Simon school, but James is no copy cat - ther track gets louder and louder before returning to the mellow tempo. With Magazine he comes into his own, a lament augmented by tasty violin flourishes. Being from Nebraska he is familiar with the great wide open and it shows in tracks like Weeds and Lawn Full of Marigolds. Preferring mid-tempo for most for his songs the hillbilly folk rocker Annabelle seems a bit out of place on this collection of musings and stories, but it serves as a breather between the seriousness that can get heavy-handed. With his throaty vocals Joshua James invites the listener to pay attention to his lyrics, free-form poetry that fits like a glove with the carefully arranged music. For lovers of pedal steel, organ, piano and Dylanesque harp playing.
Build Me This is released on Intelligent Noise Records. You can buy it here. Release date: September 22nd. An EP entitled Sing Songs has five outtakes from the sessions.
Tracks:
- Coal War
- Magazine
- Weeds
- Mother Mary
- Black July
- Annabelle
- In The Middle
- Kitchen Tile
- Lawn Full of Marigolds
- Daniel
- Pitchfork
- Wilted Daisies
- Benediction
MP3: Joshua James - Magazine
Video: Mother Mary (live)
Live dates;
- 09/11 Velour, Provo, UT
- 09/12 Velour, Provo, UT
- 09/14 Troubadour, Los Angeles, CA
- 09/15 Downtown Brew, San Luis Obispo, CA $
- 09/16 The Independent, San Francisco, CA
- 09/18 Casbah, San Diego, CA
- 09/19 Martini Ranch, Scottsdale, AZ $
- 09/21 Walnut Room, Denver, CO
- 09/22 Fox Theater, Boulder, CO
- 09/24 Minneapolis, MN Varsity
- 09/25 Majestic,Madison, WI Majestic $
- 09/26 Memorial Chapel, Appleton, WI $
- 09/27 Kryptonite, Rockford, IL $#
$ w/ Cory Chisel
# w/ Miles Nielsen
» joshuajames.tv
» myspace.com/joshuajamesmusic
HCTF review of The Sun Is Always Brighter.