Josh Okeefe – Bloomin’ Josh Okeefe
Independent – Out Now
It feels like Josh Okeefe‘s debut album has been a long time coming, but this could have something to do with its anticipation – people have been looking forward to Bloomin’ Josh Okeefe, and it won’t disappoint. The traditional style of this release is evident from one look at the cover; simple fonts listing the tracks, with a confident-looking Josh prominent, arms crossed, chin up. You immediately feel that he is more than ready for you to hear his music. This becomes even clearer once you press play and you hear ten concise, sometimes blunt, sometimes beautiful, songs covering a modest thirty-two minutes.
There can be no denying the fact that a certain venerable sixties folk singer called Bob Dylan has been a significant influence on Josh; just as soon as the opening song ‘We’re all the Same’ begins with a simple half picked, half strummed guitar, the style is clear, and the harmonica line brings him to mind even stronger, particularly his albums Bob Dylan or The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan. But this is far from saying that Josh is an emulator; his songs are current and powerful and Bloomin’ is a terrific folk album in its own right. ‘We’re all the Same’, with its critical yet straightforward message, couldn’t be any more relevant than it is right now, almost like it was written in response to present news headlines. ‘Lucille, Lucille’, inspired by the blues ballad ‘Railroad Bill’ is a softer tune, with a light finger-picked line and an almost casual vocal and playful harmonica framing a lover’s heartfelt plea for the return of his girl. Shaking things up abruptly is ‘Thoughts and Prayers’, a powerfully conceived and performed stunner, beautifully demonstrating the angrier side of Josh’s writing. Narrating a series of snippets in American life, the song is an incredulous response to gun violence and the lack of answers provided, and it is as tightly written as it is impeccably played.
Just as effective as the above song is ‘The Lonely Highway’, a less specific but equally memorable piece focusing on death and played to a jauntier blues tune with a cracking thumbed bass string keeping it all firmly in a groove, while Josh’s vocal, more rangy in this case, has fun over the top. Perhaps even better is ‘Young Sailor’, a song in the folk tradition that invites mentions of Ewan MacColl’s ‘Shoals of Herring’ and The Pogues. Josh’s versatile voice uses plenty of warmth here to narrate the story of ‘just a young sailor, a little lost at sea’. The simple guitar part adds to the naivety of our protagonist and results in the sweetest tune of the set. The most fun though is ‘Talkin’ Neighbour from Hell’, where Josh adopts his native Derbyshire accent to sing an entertaining chapter of accidents in the ‘talkin” tradition of Lonnie Donegan and Woody Guthrie, another significant influence who, according to Ramblin’ Jack Elliott, Josh brings to mind in both voice and hair style.
Bloomin’ is a great debut from Josh, full of enduring songs ranging from the comic to the tragic. The arrangements are as simple as it gets, played in the old style with just picked or strummed acoustic guitar and some harmonica accompanying the strong vocals. It’s a confident approach and certainly the correct one; these tales and commentaries need no more touches to help them soar and it takes a wise and considered hand to leave them be. Nicely played Josh, I’m looking forward to hearing these songs played live to an audience, where surely they will bloom even further.
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