Joshua K - “Christchurch (Acoustic)”
Photo by Charlotte Ellis
London-based artist and songwriter Joshua K has just released the very lovely “Christchurch (Acoustic),” a lo-fi, folksy joyride in the vein of Elliott Smith, Bon Iver, and Sufjan Stevens.
This track begins with a deep breath before letting its acoustic guitar take you by the hand and walk you down the paths of introspection and nostalgia. And although Joshua wrote the song as and ode to his younger, carefree self, listeners are bound to find glimpses of their former selves in the cracks and crevasses of this stripped-back production.
“Christchurch (Acoustic)” maintains a reasonably sparse arrangement for its duration; in addition to the guitar, the sounds of a banjo offer delicious moments of a recurring melody. However, being that we are very easily taken in by layers of vocals, Joshua immediately wins us over as soon as his singing begins. His voice appears to be perfectly doubled and coated in a fine sheen of reverb.
The vocal harmonies that appear are made of gold, successfully expanding and lifting the production. They are so good, in fact, that they make the arrangement appear much more populated than it actually is, which is exactly why we prefer songs that utilize them. These magnificent layers are also the reason we have not been able to stop listening to “Christchurch (Acoustic)” since the day that Joshua first sent it over to us.
The lyrics behold some exquisite imagery, most notably on lines like: “See if we can claw back our friends” and “Cutting our teeth on the air that we breathe,” which are bound to stir up some emotional memories for listeners who long for the days when existence did not yet seem so mundane. We highly encourage you to press play on this lovely tune, and brace yourselves for a substantial emotional impact:
-HD