No Honey. Joshua Finsel

For the second time this week, we present three albums. This is the first, released two weeks ago. All are too good to ignore while all three would have missed out if I had stuck to three new albums this week. So all three get a shorter review today.

Joshua Finsel has led several musical lives in the past three decades. This month he released his first solo album, with the assistance of producer D. Patrick and former David Bowie associate musician Mark Pratt.

The result is an album that meanders between singer-songwriter, country and folk. There's even a hint of Bob Dylan's approach to his music on 'Desire', because of the way the violin is used. With a voice that has a nice little rough edge to it, Finsel is active in the right kind of music. No Honey is the kind of album that ought to attract several lovers of Americana and roots music. From an extremely slow ballad like 'The Drought', sang with his daughter Ada, there are more up tempo songs as well.

To me though, he makes the biggest impression with 'The Drought', as everything here seems so well thought out and every instrument that comes in and there are more than you'd expect in the beginning, is so well placed and has a direct impact on me as a listener.

The same goes for the opening song, 'Before The Snow'. It is the slow songs that really, really get to me and where Finsel's voice has the biggest impact. The way these songs are produced make them stand out of the pack. D. Patrick can take some of that credit by bringing in these musicians but things start with Joshua Finsel's songs.

True, a few of the songs are moving towards too country for me, as a whole though Joshua Finsel's No Honey works for me. The water may be rising to his lips, based on this album that ought to end soon. It deserves listening to.

Wout de Natris - van der Borght

 

You can listen to and order No Honey here:

https://joshuafinsel.bandcamp.com/album/no-honey