Chordblossom
  • Home
  • News
  • Reviews
    • Music Reviews
    • Live Reviews
  • Features
    • Articles
    • Festivals
    • Fresh NI Music
    • Interviews
    • Introducing
    • Win
  • Media
    • Playlists
    • Photosets
    • Podcast
    • Sessions
    • Transmission
    • TV
  • Kickstart
  • Chordblossom Gigs
  • About
    • About
    • Contact
    • Mailing List
    • Vacancies
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
  • Reviews
    • Music Reviews
    • Live Reviews
  • Features
    • Articles
    • Festivals
    • Fresh NI Music
    • Interviews
    • Introducing
    • Win
  • Media
    • Playlists
    • Photosets
    • Podcast
    • Sessions
    • Transmission
    • TV
  • Kickstart
  • Chordblossom Gigs
  • About
    • About
    • Contact
    • Mailing List
    • Vacancies
No Result
View All Result
Chordblossom
No Result
View All Result

Bruce Joseph – Look Out

Al Gilmore by Al Gilmore
December 14, 2012
in Music Reviews
Bruce Joseph – Look Out

In this iTunes age, it can be hard for artists who believe in the ‘album’ ethos. So, you have to take your hat off to someone who believes in his songs enough to put 11 of his current crop up for consideration at £8 instead of a £3 EP. Therefore, the first thing I must say about ‘Look Out’ is that Joseph has not allowed his quality control to slip across the 11 songs featured. He has produced a very consistent album, with no weak songs.

Every song feels finished, cared for and lived in – as if these songs made it through copious gigs and Joseph knows them inside out. The production is warm and full, like Joseph’s voice itself. Unsurprisingly, the songs are formed around acoustic guitar and his voice, but other instrumentation (piano, strings, accordion) helps define each song in their own right. There are folk influences aplenty as well as touches of country but it never feels like genre-hopping – these are just tinges in each song to set them apart and without fail work within the overall sound.

ADVERTISEMENT

I could throw the name ‘Damien Rice’ into this review (just did) and wrongly pigeonhole Joseph as a copycat. Sure, there are several songs featuring a female voice with a trademark Lisa Hannigan descant, so adored from ‘O’. But there are more differences to Mr Rice than similarities in Joseph’s work. He is a much less self-loathing, less cynical composer than Rice. Yes, he gives of himself, mostly writing in the first person, but it’s not a clichéd expose of a suffering artist. These songs are bittersweet, not bitter. There’s also a touch of David Gray at times though Joseph never veers into the pop beats that define Gray’s work. For me, the stand out track is ‘A Very Strange Thing’ and I feel the phrasing of the words is very ‘Gray’ but the music is not, with the accordion giving it an almost sea-shanty feel.

If you like this genre, ‘Look Out’ is money well spent. It’s an album for staying in on rainy days and letting the music warm you. One small criticism is that it is a bit too ‘safe’ at times, both in terms of the lyrical content and Joseph’s vocal delivery. That may seem contradictory, as I’ve praised him for not slavishly following the ‘Rice blueprint’. But, what I mean is there must be some times when he gets angry and he showcases both his normal singing voice and falsetto in such a seemingly effortless manner that I would love to hear him really let rip every now and then. Maybe that will happen on the follow-up album. I’ll be listening.

◀ STANDOUT ⁞ A Very Strange Thing ▶
◀ CONNECTION ⁞ Damien Rice | David Gray ▶

Leave a Comment ⁞

Tags: al gilmoreBruce JosephDamien RiceDavid GrayLook Out
ShareTweetShareShareSendSend
Previous Post

Robb Murphy – Take A Stand

Next Post

No Matter – Fidge

Related Posts

Revisited Damien Rice O
Blogs

Revisited: Damien Rice – O

June 21, 2020
The Bonnevilles
Music Reviews

The Bonnevilles – Dirty Photographs

August 5, 2018

Recent Posts

Six Mile Music Festival header

Six Mile Music Festival Hits Antrim

June 28, 2022
Invaderband - Photography by Michael McGlinchey

Invaderband – 18 June 2022

June 23, 2022
Stream: Clara Tracey – Baby Witch

Stream: Clara Tracey – Baby Witch

June 22, 2022

Twitter

Instagram

Follow

  • Invaderband at Bennigans on Saturday night.

Photos by Michael McGlinchey
  • Ex-Isles at the Empire Music Hall on Friday night.

Photos by Ben Lamming

Spotify Playlist

Fresh Music From Northern Ireland

Mailing List

  • About Chordblossom
  • Kickstart
  • Music Reviews
  • Live Reviews
  • Features
  • Interviews
  • Photos
  • Fresh Music From Northern Ireland Playlist
  • Chordblossom Gigs
  • Mailing List

© 2020 Chordblossom

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
  • Reviews
    • Music Reviews
    • Live Reviews
  • Features
    • Articles
    • Festivals
    • Fresh NI Music
    • Interviews
    • Introducing
    • Win
  • Media
    • Playlists
    • Photosets
    • Podcast
    • Sessions
    • Transmission
    • TV
  • Kickstart
  • Chordblossom Gigs
  • About
    • About
    • Contact
    • Mailing List
    • Vacancies

© 2020 Chordblossom

This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish.Accept Read More
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Non-necessary
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
SAVE & ACCEPT