The Boy The Earth Sings To is the musical project of Joshua Britt who releases his debut album ‘The Quiet Voice of God’ this month. Joshua previously formed harmonic roots band The Farewell Drifters and co-founded the collective The Orphan Brigade. When asked about this latest album, Joshua shared “I am trying to follow the quiet voice of God into the wild, beautiful, musical wilderness for a new path on this one. Inspired by a famously eccentric Spanish architect’s philosophy that “The creation continues incessantly through the media of man. But man does not create…he discovers,” I’ve sought to capture that spirit of discovery.”
We are introduced to the album via `Burn The Daylight There` which has a tender beauty and is about appreciating life`s simple pleasures, a case of opening your eyes, mind and heart and appreciating that every life is special and unique. A return to the narrator`s hometown and discovering long forgotten objects triggers memories of childhood on `Small Town Dreams` a further melodic meditation.
`Easy To Fall In Love` is a rolling rhythmic consideration on a romantic relationship that almost so relaxed you can take it for granted. Singer and multi-instrumentalist Eva Holbrook better known as Lady Moon adds lead and harmony vocals to `Too Late Too Soon` a fairly fast paced outing possibly seeped in retrospective remorse and regret. We enjoy some skewered riffs embedded at various times throughout the track.
`Picture Frames` is a fairly dreamy reflection on family life and possibly the march of time while `Eyes Of God` is probably more searching or looking for maybe a meaning to life.
If i`m honest I couldn`t quite fathom what `Spirit Machine` was about but it had an endearing Americana / old time waltz like ambience. Again lyrically `The Wolf Is Dead` kind of passed me by, a fairly ethereal almost haunting listen. Maybe the title symbolised the suppression or destruction of an untamed nature.
`Swallow Your Heart` rolls along with some wonderfully deft mandolin hues and has a kind of gentle hazy vagueness about it. There`s a real introspective depth to the mellow `Rain Washes In` which may represent new beginnings, renewal, and cleansing.
The country tinged `Walter And Vera` appears to be a contemplation on a couple where one has passed, the heartache the remaining companion feels and their desire to reunite. The final track `Every Single Moment` is a fairly melancholic listen and seems to be a heart-rending reflection on mortality.
‘The Quiet Voice of God’ was a fairly stimulating listen with upbeat songs and some much more reflective and weighty. It is a release; I feel where you`ll maybe discover something new on each hearing.
It brought to mind for me a quotation from author Dan Brown`s fictional character Robert Langdon – “Remember death. Even for those who wield great power, life is brief. There is only one way to triumph over death, and that is by making our lives masterpieces.”
Rating 8/10
