Josh Joplin’s third record is a different twist on his previous productions, this time the artist has created without so much production (we are told). Jaywalker is a record that Joplin made to get back to the real reasons he makes music – fun and friends. While the sound of the disc is relatively organic, Joplin has created a somewhat passionate record of only mediocre tracks, with some highlights and some skip-overs throughout.
With a standard piano, guitar, drum set jam session sound, the tracks don’t musically contribute much feeling. At their best the tracks flow, at their worst they bore. With a voice very reminiscent of Michael Stipe at moments, Joplin really supplies most of the sound with his voice. Joplin’s voice adds a very energetic and folky feel to some very lackluster tracks, making them worth tapping your foot to at moments. Lyrically the tracks lay flat on the floor, with the “fresh approach” and “simple joy of playing songs with a few friends” favoring music over substance, rendering the musically tiresome tracks dead without the lyrics to pull them through.
The album starts off with “Mister New Year’s Day,” a track that shows some potential as the disc gets started with a feel good sound and some depth. The disc continues into mediocrity with the lyrically challenged “Pilgrim’s Progress,” a track too similar to the first one to care about. “One Becomes Two” picks it up with a strong drum track and catchy chorus, leading one to wonder if some of these tracks were made to be more radio-friendly then we are led to believe. The dullness continues on, especially showing through in the very cliché “World on a Shoestring” and “To All My Friends.” The disc begins to slow down with more borderline ballads that are truly too tedious to enjoy. The vocal harmonies on the last track “Stay” are the only thing worth skipping to at this point, and even they can’t carry the whole track through to the end.
Overall Joplin’s third record and apparently new musical direction isn’t the most monotonous to listen to, but isn’t the best either. There are tracks that show his and the band’s true potential, something that would really shine in a live festival performance of some kind but doesn’t carry a studio disc. Other than the handful of unique and energetic tracks, the tiresome disc drags on with cliché lyrics, simple melodies, and uninteresting musical sounds.
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