Josh Gilbert - Live Tracks & Acoustic Sessions - ROCKSPOSURE.....Be Heard

Album Review
Josh Gilbert - "Live Tracks & Acoustic Sessions"

Article By Chris Brach

There are few performances that are more revealing of an artist’s true skill than an acoustic set.  No distortion pedals, synth sounds, or other extraneous effects to muddle the music that’s being created.  Every single note and ounce of rhythm is out in the open with nowhere to hide.  In my mind, an acoustic set is what separates the men from the boys.  It’s music in its purest form, you’ve either got the skills to pull it off or you don’t.

After two successful albums with his band Jettison Never, Josh Gilbert is branching out to take some of his softer, folk rock songs on the road.  While he has a full album in the works scheduled for early next year, Gilbert just released an appropriately named six song EP entitled “Live Tracks & Acoustic Sessions” to give fans a taste of what’s to come from his solo efforts.

Josh Gilbert’s voice and melodic style have a distinctive signature that is unmistakable regardless of the genre of music he is working in.  The passion of his vocal delivery has echoed through on his previous work, but in the acoustic setting there is a soulfulness that eagerly finds its way out.  Whether he is working through a weathered folk song like “Crucified”, or a tune like the more upbeat ballad “Taking Back the Night”; Gilbert’s vocals have an added character that wasn’t as detectable within his Jettison Never body of work.  By getting down to the basics and minimal accompaniment of his six string, this soul filled element absolutely jumps out at you.

No better example of this emotional, musical purity can be found than on the track “Lay It Down”.  Gilbert’s approach is simple yet powerful as he makes his way through his wide ranging vocals.  While a great song in any form, “Lay It Down” gets down to a personal level thanks to the acoustic setting as Gilbert asks  “What are you living for?”.  There is a sincerity to the song that is achieved through this lone guitar and singer approach. This is a solo performance at its finest.

In six new original songs on “Live Tracks & Acoustic Sessions” Josh Gilbert is ending 2011 on a high note.  For that reason, 2012 is looking bright for this Tennessee singer and his six string.  As the EP encompasses a different focus and direction for Gilbert, it truly showcases his talent in the process by demonstrating both his musical diversity and ability to write and play it in its most unadulterated form, unplugged.  

"Live Tracks & Acoustic Sessions" is available now on Band Camp (Click Here)