Joshua Radin - We Were Here
Cleveland Singer-Songwriter Releases His Major Label Debut
Since his 2004 debut First Between 3rd And 4th, Cleveland-born singer-songwriter Joshua Radin has consistently impressed. We Were Here is his major label debut.
- Genre: Acoustic / folk rock
- Joshua Radin (vocals / guitar), Priscilla Hartranft (piano / vocals), Chris Holmes (guitar / tambora), Solomon Snyder (bass), Oliver Kraus / Colette Alexander / John Krovoza (cello), Jason Kanakis (guitar), Chad Fischer (piano)
- Sounds like: Elliot Smith, Simon & Garfunkel, Damien Rice, Nick Drake
- Home: Los Angeles, US
- Joshua Radin
Friends In High Places
Zach Braff has a lot to answer for, but thankfully it's all good. The Scrubs actor/director is friends with two of the best singer-songwriters currently playing today – Cary Brothers (with whom a special feature will be appearing on Suite soon), and Joshua Radin. Through Braff, both artists have had their music heard by a wider audience than they might have, and listening to We Were Here, that can only be a good thing.
A re-release of his second independent album, and now available on Columbia Records, this is an album that shows Radin at some of his songwriting best. Written at a time of when he both broke up from a lover and subsequently fell in love after moving to Los Angeles, it's a collection of both bittersweet and positive love songs, all sung in his trademark whispery vocals.
The Sound Of Sublime
Sundrenched World opens the record, with its plucked strings and hoarse lilt bringing to mind Damien Rice, circa O. Depicting Radin as he tries desperately to discover why his lover has suddenly chosen to ignore him, it's a gentle and beautiful introduction to the man and his music.
Star Mile is almost like a 60's-inspired offering, and if you close your eyes, you could almost imagine Simon & Garfunkel recanting this folk tinged ballad. It's also one of the songs that you may have already heard and wondered who the artist was, with its appearance in the Zach Braff film Last Kiss.
Indeed, listening to the record, you can picture almost any one of Radin's songs finding a place in a soundtrack of some kind, whether it's his friend Braff's films, or the likes of One Tree Hill on which the sublime Everything'll Be Alright (Will's Lullaby) appears, its gentle confirmation that life may deal you blows but that's all they are – blows, and you can always be stronger than them.
From Minor To Major
Radin's come a long way since being a struggling screenwriter and painter in his early days in New York, as is shown by Winter, which is the song that saw him begin his current path. Performing it at an open mic night, it stole the show and had his good friend Cary Brothers convincing him to record it. Its appearance on this album is confirmation of how strong a songwriter Radin has always been.
From his 2004 debut to his current album, with its ability to transcend genres through the likes of Someone Else's Life and the simply beautiful Amy's Song, a love song in its purest form, Radin is proof that belief and talent can still win out. Alongside his friend Brothers, he's showing that the art of songwriting over image is still the only thing that matters, and for that he should be applauded.
 |
 |
 |
 |
