Labels: Boss Tuneage
Review by: Andy Malcolm
I first heard Joshua about 4 years ago now, they were one of the first emo rock bands I had been ‘exposed’ to, via a CDEP they had put out on Doghouse. I was really excited by that particular style of music at the time, though looking back, Joshua were a very average band in the genre, but because I was new to that whole style, I was rather wowed. Much as today people are wowed by certain sub-par emo rock bands on certain labels, simply because they haven’t heard the really great stuff in that style yet. Heyho.
Joshua don’t sound too far removed from that band I heard back then, they still have quality, almost crooned vocals. Maybe crooned is the wrong word. Anyway, they are more poppy and straight forward these days, more of a Jimmy Eat World circa ‘Clarity’ type band, or like Coldplay. Mid-paced pop/rock tunes with plodding basslines and simple song structures. It’s all very pleasant, but it doesn’t grab you by the rude bits and threaten to do you permanent damage. It’s just like, there. I guess if you are a fan of this style of music, then it is as accomplished as any other band doing this style. And they throw in some keyboard and some acoustic guitar parts to show off their musical proficiency, but I’m afraid that for me, that’s just not enough Joshua. I fall asleep.
Zzzzzzzz.