Search - Josh Pyke :: Memories & Dust

Songwriting from the brain and heart

mustlovecheese | Australia | 08/04/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Josh Pyke is the whole package -- the real deal. He's an accomplished singer, he writes lyrics that use all sorts of surprising imagery but never stray into the annoyingly abstract, his melodies are catchy yet complicated, his guitar-playing is accomplished, his stage presence is humble and friendly, and on Memories and Dust he's worked with one of Australia's best producers, Wayne Connolly, to get the most of out every song.



'Nothing breaks the heart much more than looking at old photographs', he sings on the haunting 'Vibrations in Air', and that's what his best songs are like -- little musical snapshots of a feeling, or a moment past, as in the picturesque portrait of an Australian childhood in 'Middle of the Hill', or new love in 'Forever Song', or cynical loneliness in 'Mannequins' -- 'I drink in bars and try my best/But these mannequins are too well-dressed'. Ultimately, though, these are optimistic songs coloured by an understanding that life is never perfect, and rarely what you expect.





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