Happy Birthday Rachel Markus. This was her suggested album for some point during the year. April 3rd seemed like the correct day. Yes.
I hadn’t ever listened to Josh Joplin or the JJG from the early aughts; I may have heard the name before. I was pleasantly surprised to learn that Jerry Harrison produced the opening track called Matter. Jerry was a member of one of my all time favorite bands ever, Talking Heads. I like the opener. It’s got that indie folk/rock tone, a medium tempo and a rich chorus and interesting lyrics:
“And so life continues As matter does not disappear
And you are not the issue In this the universal sphere
So turn off the light Let night embrace and take you in
Sleep within its wisdom and
Dreams are not lost they merely fall beneath the ashes
Of what is left to the soul from where it starts to where it catches
And this is our time until it passes”^
The rest of the record continues along the same type of path. I took to these tracks: Gravity, Undone, Here I Am and Matter. A little extra sauce for Superstar, please. Sublime meets R.E.M.–it has the right beat, the pop song hook, the rapped poetic lyrics and another groovy chorus. Actually, you can hear the Stipe influence throughout the whole disc; no doubt there.
Another shout out to my birthday celebrating friend. She likes Dutch Wonderland the most. I get why she digs that song and suggested “Useful Music.” Well played, Markus, well played.
^Josh Joplin Group
365, Album of the Day 2014 