Joshua Hyslop
Echos
(Nettwerk Music Group)
4/5
Vancouver-based singer-songwriter Joshua Hyslop’s third album, Echos, encompasses everything I love about the genre.
With a combination of heavy acoustic guitar and whispered-tight-to-the-microphone lyrics of heartbreak, Echos is soothing and easy on the ears. Tracks such as “Fall” and “How You’ve Been” are reminiscent of Sleeping at Last and Gregory Allen Isakov. “Into the Dark” brings a refreshing folksy sound that makes me want to drink a pint around a campfire, and “Stand Your Ground” provides a ribbon of southern soul.
The album’s 11 tracks unfold like a rom-com that can be predicted from the opening shot, but the beautiful part is that I don’t really care. It’s well executed, charming, and comfortable. While I would have loved an infusion of something unexpected, Hyslop provides a solid album worthy of sipping Starbucks to.
If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it: Echos is the perfect example of this philosophy.