Joshua James

Joshua James has been writing and singing songs for only six short years, but the 25-year-old heartland poet has the perspective of a wise, old soul.

On his second album, Build Me This, the follow-up to his critically acclaimed The Sun is Always Brighter, produced by industry veteran Shannon Edgar, James expands his musical palette to foreboding doom-laden hard rock. Progressing from folkish harmonies, to country twang, world beats and southern home rock while further exploring themes of spiritual searching.

Possessing a whispery and intimate vocal style that works its way into the ear peacefully and directly, Joshua James is pitched midway between seminal influences like Bob Dylan and Neil Young.

I find solace and beauty in darkness and depression, admits James, who grew up in his native Lincoln, Nebraska, skateboarding and sneaking listens to music his parents banned, like classic rockers Jim Morrison and The Doors, Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd, But there are contrasts to everything. You have to combine the sweet and salty, the ugly and beautiful. Music is very therapeutic for me. Its all about making a connection with humanity, with the audience, in ways that I normally wouldnt be able to.

Over the past three years, James has been doing just that. His debut was the #1 Folk Album on iTunes, and FM Radio, a song about a childhood friend coping with the death of his father, amassed more than 150,000 downloads as part of an iTunes promotion. In addition to performances at Sundance, SXSW and CMJ, James has toured with John Mayer, David Gray and Ani DiFranco, winning legions of fans along the way.

I feel strongly about the things I sing about, nods Joshua. I want people to know how I feel, which sounds kind of dumb, because who cares how I feel? If someone feels similarly, though, thats what Im looking for. Thats the most important thing. If you can relate to what Im going through, then Ive achieved my goal.

The album title, Build Me This, refers to his dream of salvation. Its my way of asking God to show himself, declares James. To prove he exists. Do something. Give me a sign. Its a call to whatever or whoever is out there. I dont want him to strike me down or paralyze me, just give me something to believe.

Aside from the spiritual, Build Me This is also about the difficulties of everyday relationships, the inadvertent hurt we cause to those we love. Magazine deals with the pain of separation (Go take your bags to New York City, call me when your plane arrives/Ill feed the children, wash the dishes, Ill keep the house lookin nice/Well dont you worry, everythings gonna be all right.), while In the Middle laments a shattered romance (Youve tried so hard to forget me/You burnt the letters Id made/Though my memory has been dyin/I hope the feeling still remains).

On the stage, though, is where Joshua James music comes alive and reveals its true intent, which is about drawing people into his insular universe, a sense of mystic that only the truly great ones can communicate.

Perhaps the darkness comes out a little more often that Id like, he offers but thats just where I gravitate to when Im writing. I dont usually try to tackle specific subjects; its usually about what Im feeling at the time. Things start to come out, then they form a story and a reason, and thats how things evolve. Im influenced by everything by life, by love, by hate, by music.

PRESS for JOSHUA JAMES

With a hoarse, sweet voice that can fly from tremulous fragility to soulful roar, James brings a kind of grunge rock drive to rootsy folk, fueled by a gloomy existentialism and political rage.- The Telegraph (UK)

If you think Conor Oberst is the most interesting folky singer-songwriter in America, that just might be because you havent heard Joshua James yet...- Sunday Times (UK)

"This 25-year-old songwriter already has the wisdom to know that if you're going to serve up a blood-drenched biblical allegory, you best have an old soul's voice to sing it with. Every line rings with desperation and a desire for salvation."- Esquire magazine

Fans of Conor Oberst could do far worse than giving this a listen.- Q Magazine (UK)

This is a man who can don and peel off masks with every track The disguises are so convincingly worn that which one is the real Joshua James matters not one whit.- Uncut (UK)

A young American trailing his fingers in the plankton-rich surface waters of old American music; an album themed almost biblically, around the mystique of the US landscape and history.- The Independent on Sunday (UK)

Coal War starts life as a sparse, modest, orthodox gospel, and dies as ecstatic psychedelic epic.- The Guardian Guide (UK)

Purposeful and elegantly marshalled primal folk- The Daily Mirror (UK)

James fills songs with images of burning boats and burning letters, blood on the floor, deep incisions and cancer. He delivers in a raspy voice that sounds wounded at all the right times- Paste Magazine

James is a songwriter with more than just a hint of beauty in his voice and his words seem to come from the ends of dusty roads and bottomless nights that just keep on stretching and stretching and feeling as if they'll never turn.- Daytrotter

Passionate, bloody minded songwriting from a man on a mission.- Pandora

James specializes in lyrics that cut right through listeners with their sincerity and honesty. With a tender, scratchy voice that often cracks with emotion, and a clear understanding of the vivid storytelling that defines folk music, he commands attention effortlessly- NPR

A young Midwestern singer-songwriter who writes hard-bitten songs of family tragedies and sings them in a voice that's as sun-bleached and wind-battered as a Nebraska cornfield. - Variety