Josh Gray has a voice that doesn’t seem like it quite fits should you see his album cover first. He has a rough and tumble gruffness to his tone when he sings out. He has a throwback kind of a vibe taking note from yesterday’s path makers like Cash, Cohen and Van Zandt.
The cover of Dead Milkmen’s “Punk Rock Girl” is a straight faced and deadpan talking blues of sort. It has hints and essence of one of my favorite writer’s, Todd Snider, in its delivery, which I can get onboard with. This cover sets the pace for Gray’s record and style. He is straightforward and no frills, the way that I prefer my songwriter’s. He has an attitude and there is a sense of urgency in songs like “Ballad of Brady”, but I feel a very relaxed vibe from him as a musician and performer. His voice fits very perfectly for his storytelling style of singing and I have to say, I really dig what he is laying out there.
There is a depth to Gray that may not be evident at first when you hear his music. I could see where in aesthetics and initial sonic judgments he comes across as a “Johnny Cash type” singer. Utilizing stories to get across an emotion rather than plucking from full real life experience (like in The Outlaw), in some instances that can even be tougher than a word for word recap of a life event.The stripped down nature of a voice and a guitar can often times be overlooked, but there is something more here. There is something perfectly imperfect about that delivery. Something worth giving a second look.
Give a listen for yourself…