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Review: 'Josh Taerk'
'Beautiful Tragedy'   

-  Label: 'Misty Creek records'
-  Genre: 'Alt/Country' -  Release Date: '13.9.18.'

Our Rating:
This is Canadian singer songwriting hunk Josh Taerk's third album and has a cover that looks perfect to be turned into a poster to adorn the walls of the young fans this is aimed at.

From the opening title track Beautiful Tragedy is full of radio friendly modern country pop with lyrics about love not quite going how you want it too. Anywhere Love Took Us takes us back to be teenage lovers hoping for escape from whatever small town they are in with a nice big chorus and some really cool guitar work to make sure it's appeal isn't just to young girls.

Neverland slows things down a bit as Josh tells the object of his desire all the things he thinks about her, it's perfect to convince lots of people he's singing it to them and that they are his Neverland a nice song of lust.

Midnight Mustang is a good rocking song about telling his other half that he wants to shag around but stay with her in the grand tradition of songs about going on the road and having a lot of fun and it has some nice backing vocals that I can imagine being provided live by the audience as it really sounds like it will be a live favourite.

After the Fall is full of regret at how things have changed for him and his other half or ex other half and living a lie through his songs, which is an essential part of any writers craft I like the windblown bits when the strings come in and it also really reminds of Prefab Sprout or possibly The Lilac Time.

Beauty Queen is aimed at the teenage Audience that Josh obviously appeals to and is asking the girls who are teenage Beauty queens if they realise there is more to life than looking perfect and will they ever learn to love rather than just rate stuff. I find it hard as a guy in my fifties to put myself back to being at school but think this would work well on the soundtrack to a modern update of something like Heathers.

Jekyll And Hyde is a slow and measured song full of allegory about the people he has obviously come across that are like Jekyll and Hyde and let's face we all know a few. I love the slide guitar that keeps coming in and out as well as the laid back guitars on it generally.

The album closes with Learning To Let Go a song that rises and falls between the verses and chorus and the added textures on the verses are really cool while Josh dishes out the advice that boils down to don't expect to find your one true love and live happily ever after straight away so let go and move on and he reminds me of Nick Heyward in having that knack for making thoughtful pop.

He will be touring the UK in October to promote the album. Find out more at www.Joshtaerk.com and https://www.facebook.com/joshtaerk/
  author: simonovitch

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