Joshua Radin returns with a new studio release ‘Though The World Will Tell Me So’ which is the follow-up to his 2021 album ‘The Ghost and The Wall’. It comprises ten songs written primarily in Stockholm, Paris, and Lisbon. The first five tracks which make up vol 1 were released earlier this year and opens with `I’m Just Different` which is a gentle reflective number with vocals that are almost whispered. It appears to be an observation about being perceived as being a little outside the norm but feeling fairly comfortable with that tag. A song to champion the outsiders of this world. The delicate `Broken` begins with piano and vocals with a backing harmony joining before it evolves with a kind of orchestrated support with strings and rumbling percussion. An emotive and at times nigh on revelatory declaration of past imagined injustices committed.
There`s a further reminiscence on `My Father’s Eyes` which is a tale of hoping that one`s patriarch is proud of what you`ve become and achieved. The track has an added poignancy as it`s shared with just guitar and vocals. A gentle nostalgic reflection on time spent with that special someone shared over rhythmic intricately picked guitar chords follows with `Dancing Dress`.
Volume 1 closes with the breathy toe tapper `Running From The Dawn`. A pretty thoughtful and introspective piece on a relationship and where it`s heading.
Volume 2 contains a further five numbers of which `Over the City` is a rolling acoustic submission which looks back on an evening where maybe one participant didn`t feel was as extraordinary as the other. It`s a delightfully descriptive piece with a real sense of heartache. There`s a more upbeat sensibility about `This One’s For` which according to the singer is “a love letter to close friends and family, who may not realise how much he thinks about them while he’s away on the road.” It was written after a night in Dublin, Ireland that left a lasting impression on the singer.
`Don’t Give Up On Me` is a melancholic number that seeks a reaffirmation of a continued friendship while we get two versions of `Neverland`. Version 1 is a more stripped back rendering whereas Version 2 is much more robust and has Maddie Poppe adding not only backing harmonies but sharing verses which gives the number a really different slant.
This volume and indeed this combined release closes out with `Man of the Year` which explores this artists personal struggles with intimacy and vulnerability. It`s a mid-paced folky pop offering with a rolling beat at its heart.
‘Though The World Will Tell Me So’ is a deeply personal and a quite overwhelming listen at times. It`s a release that will need a number of listens to fully appreciate all its dimensions. It runs at just under forty minutes and even at that can be fairly powerful to take in all at once.
An album that i`m sure I’ll dip in and out of for some time to come.
Rating 8 / 10
