Gloriously optimistic take on revivalist folk
"Do the things you love, not the things you oughta" should be everyone's manifesto for life. It's certainly Josh Bray's, and the love pours out of every song. If it's not too optimistic to be soundtracking my summer already, 'The River Song' has already made it onto the playlist, hotly followed by the rest of this clever yet mellow album. Its gorgeously hazy sunshiny feel and lazy harmonica encapsulates everything that's pure and good about simple acoustic songwriting in this country. Bray's relatively new arrival on the scene with this debut belies the intensity and depth of observation within his lyrics. Able to pick melodies seemingly out of nowhere, Bray's skill is his ability to take the obvious influences (Drake, Young, Martyn et al) but to spin something very contemporary with them.
'Whisky & Wool' weaves the best elements of contemporary folk and English blues with an acoustic pop sensibility that creates memorable anthems in 'Bigger Than The Both of Us' and the worldly wise 'Hard Living'. The delicate spiritual sound softens the more cynical lyrical content, but there's an element of aspirational wistfulness in tracks like 'This Is Life' and 'Living Free' – salve to Bray's emotional distress. Unlike with his heroes, Bray's lust for life is an overriding passion that seeps through the album like river water through a cracked dam.
The real appeal of this album is that despite its apparently loose, rustic feel, there are no weak links or filler. Each of the tracks rolls into the next smoothly and it's easy to lose track of time when listening to it. Not entirely as pastoral as the cover suggests, 'The Sea and The Inbetween' and well-travelled 'Indian Gin' hint at closer links to Zeppelin's take on 60s/70s folk revivalism. It's Bray's beautifully low-key voice that transports the music to another level, as the guitar and lyrical complexity will develop over time. It's easy to forget that this is a debut, the same as with Ray LaMontagne or Seth Lakeman.
Rest assured, summer has its new sound. And Josh Bray has a certain future.