Thursday, December 7, 2017

Josh Birdsong - Where the Light Bends (2017)




Written by Daniel Boyer, posted by blog admin

Where the Light Bends is the second release from Nashville based singer, songwriter, and guitarist Josh Birdsong. His debut Simple Geometry threw down the gauntlet by serving notice to the Nashville scene and the music world at large that a major new performer and writer is poised to make a deep impact. The promise of that initial release is fully realized with Where the Light Bends’ six songs and it has an impressive scope despite being an EP release. It isn’t surprising when you stop to consider the wave of accolades Birdsong has enjoyed since first emerging – numerous competitions, plum placement of his material on high profile television networks, and graduation from the prestigious Interlochen Arts Academy with a singer/songwriter degree. Where the Light Bends should accelerate his upward trajectory and cement him as one of the more formidable talents to emerge in recent memory.

His artistry is apparent from the first song onward. “Complex Context” is definitely the most aggressive track on the release and, while it shares some of the ambient textures you hear fleshed out in greater detail on later songs, the authoritative drumming heard throughout much of the track and uptempo pace set it apart from later songs. Birdsong delivers an equally forceful vocal and his guitar parts are certainly worth listeners’ attention. His six string talents are simply impossible to ignore. Another of the strongest songs on Where the Light Bends is the second cut “The Sound Beneath the Static” and the well rounded creativity defining both the arrangement and lyric makes this one of Birdsong’s most fully realized moments on both this release and his debut. The chorus is particularly memorable and the one-two combination of this with the opener gets Where the Light Bends off to an impressive start. The ambient influences on Birdsong’s songwriting gain strength with the songs “Cloud 8” and the EP’s longest song “Too Much to Hold”, but neither track is so devoted to its soundscape design that it neglects to engage listeners. The former song, especially, features subtle guitar lines that get under the listener’s skin while Birdsong’s singing on “Too Much to Hold” raises already excellent lyrics to a much higher level.

The EP moves away from the atmospheric ambient tone of those songs and back to music more in touch with the potential of his guitar playing with the songs “Arctic Desert” and the title song. There’s a slightly unsettled, dissonant edginess coming from “Arctic Desert” Birdsong’s audience will undoubtedly admire and concluding the EP with its title track illustrates how thoroughly conceived this release is for Birdsong and balances the guitar textures with equally memorable keyboard playing. Where the Light Bends is a more than adequate follow up to Simple Geometry and embodies for current fans and newcomers alike Birdsong’s considerable talents. These six songs pack far more of a cumulative effect than many full length albums and it never resorts to heavy handed methods to achieve its desired results.

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