Authors of the songs used in TV shows are often less known than those songs are. When we connect the artist with the song, it happens that we don’t know him\her. Just remember all of those tunes that appeared on Grey’s Anatomy during the most dramatic moments. In my mind, most of them are written by a Jane Doe.
Joshua Radin is an artist who begun his career by selling music rights to a show Scrubs. He started playing when he was thirty years old, but as he mastered the skill quickly, he commenced writing songs. It didn’t took long before he dived into music waters, and now he has seven albums in his discography, including the most recent one titled The Fall. What’s interesting is that this is also his first album as a producer, and third self-released.
Joshua’s music is predominantly folk and acoustic. Besides vocal and guitar, nothing stands out too much. Soft and sensual vocal, romantic lyrics and guitar are key characteristics of this musician. He kept the same sound on all of his records, which makes them sound alike. Even he said that The Fall is difficult to differentiate from his previous works, besides the fact that it is self-produced. In the end, Joshua doesn’t seem boring. He manages to write and sing in a manner that makes him sound fresh on his seventh effort. The secret is in the simplicity, because his music is raw and saved from kitsch.
Simplicity is accentuated here, maybe due to the fact that the album was recorded in just five days. Truly, you can feel the creative energy burning from desire to become materialized. Ten songs are like ten pages from the diary, which is exactly what Joshua wants to accomplish with his art. The songs function as writings of both basic and complex things.
The Fall is a romantic, soft, dreamy folk album. Occasionally, there are some cheerful eruptions such as Diamonds. My favorites include Falling, When I’m With You and Waiting, three typical folk ballades in style of Ben Howard. High and Low might be Joshua’s best song yet, even though it is more exuberant than what his trademark is.
Cool, calm, collected – Joshua Radin.
