Josh T Pearson // Last of the Country Gentlemen

This man has a beard that looks like mermaid’s hair. It’s truly a wonder. Beyond that, he is a Texan fellow, previously with Peel favourite, Lift To Experience, a rock band along the lines of Arcade Fire crossed with Pavement. They were good. You’d like them. Since they split up he hasn’t been in the musical eye much, but now returns with a debut solo album which has blown critics out of the water. With only 7 songs, but most of them lasting around 10 minutes each, this is a country/folk album by someone with a brain and a heart and tells of the struggles between them.  With his rambling, whispered lyrics full of love, sorrow and disappointments, Josh literally swoons through this album, his voice fading in and out as if he is singing it directly to the listener. The arrangements are so beautifully simple, mainly acoustic guitar with an occasional fiddle, it’s timeless and heart breaking at every step. The best song title I ever heard, Honeymoon is Great, I Wish You Were Her, is the stand out song for me, at 12 minutes long and dripping with regret and romance. For those moments when we need pretty AND sad.