Album review: Joshua Radin – Underwater

Joshua Radin Album Review by Amrit Takhar

Note: The author's views are entirely his or her own and may not reflect the views of RetoxMagazine.com

Joshua Radin - Underwater

A Brief Introduction to Joshua Radin

If I’m being completely honest, the first I time I heard of Joshua Radin was when I was looking up songs used in the popular American TV show, Scrubs. I came across a track called Don’t Look Away and was instantly taken by his oh-so-soft; delicate voice that at times is reduced to just more than a whisper. I then found another track, Today, which encompasses his music completely. It is these tracks that caused me to buy first album Wish You Were Here from 2006 and really introduced me to the music of Joshua Radin. He has a completely unique style when it comes to singing, and his more acoustic stuff could be compared to that of Jack Johnson in the way that it is just so relaxing, providing escapism when you need it most.

Joshua Radin's Album Underwater

Ohio born Radin has been hugely successful worldwide, with his music being used in countless films and television shows. He has toured with the likes of The Script and Sheryl Crow, and his third album The Rock and The Tide from 2010 reached number 5 on the iTunes album chart upon its release. So naturally, with three consistently successful albums, it is intriguing to see if he kept to his staple sound of indie folk or would experiment and try something new.

The answer is a pleasant mix of both. Fourth studio album Underwater consists of sixteen new songs, four of which are bonus tracks, and involves a notable use of strings. Radin is excellent at composing a great love song, and this comes through yet again with this album. I can imagine playing this record on a hot summer’s day, sitting somewhere peaceful and forgetting about the everyday stresses of life. Sounds corny, but that’s what this kind of music does, and love or fight it, you will find it incredibly hard not to just let go when listening to this record.

Underwater, The Album

Opening track Tomorrow Is Gonna Be Better features Radin’s gorgeous soft, dulcet tones but the theme is not a new one, what with previous song Brand New Day, and One of Those Days.

However I don’t think this is a particularly bad thing; each album is a fresh canvas of expression and the idea of a fresh start is obviously one Radin likes to play with. The clean acoustic guitar intro shows that Radin is sticking with his usual style. He has an unmoving ability to turn the simplest of melodies into a beautiful, moving love song, like this. The verse is of a lower tone but the chorus brings it up with strings Radin singing "Let the rain fall", starting the album off strongly with one of his classic love songs.

Anywhere Your Love Goes is slow, soft and rhythmic and definitely sounds like the poor man has fallen madly in love, locked himself in a room somewhere and written music about her. The harmonies in the bridge and chorus make this a great relaxing summer track; easy listening at its best.

A perfect road trip track is a more upbeat Let It Go with lyrics about leaving it all behind. There’s not much else to say about this track other than it achieves its ambition at being a pretty summer song that almost anyone could listen to and enjoy.

The title track Underwater doesn’t strike me as a particularly strong track on the album, but then maybe this is the reason for choosing it as a single. In my opinion, Joshua Radin shines when writing acoustically and without restraint, which does end up in a lot of his work sounding similar, but then Underwater is set to be released as a single. It definitely appeals to a wider audience, being uplifting, upbeat and catchy, but to me it seems a little detached and dare I say, boring, compared to the previous emotion filled tracks. The best thing about this song is the big finish for the last minute of the song where the instruments build to the end, which is a nice touch.

My favourite track on the album by far is The Willow. Maybe it’s the strings that come in with the opening few chords of Radin’s acoustic guitar, the staccato plucking of the strings later in the track or the fact that his voice seems to have hit a new level of soft and delicate, but there’s something haunting about this song. The slight echo works and you get the feeling Radin means every word he is singing. This is the perfect example of Radin creating an undeniably beautiful love song.

Overall, Underwater is a really nice indie-folk album that displays Radin doing what he does best. The album could be said to be a little samey, but then you could say this is just him knowing what he is good at and sticking to it. There really isn’t any other genre of music I can see Radin attempting in the near future, so for now it may be better to appreciate his work for what it is, rather than willing him to try something too different and failing. The additions of strings are only a positive thing, and as ever, you will finish this album feeling poignant, or maybe just completely in love. Either way, I would highly recommend this album to fans of Radin’s previous work, and to those who like other forms of indie-folk but have never given him a try. Or, if you’ve never dared to go near the genre, give it a go; it will open up a whole new window of music listening experiences and emotional associations that can really just take you far away.