Josh Small: Tall
By
Evan Sawdey 21 September 2007PopMatters Interviews Editor
Country with jazz overtones? Bluegrass dancing with ‘70s piano-pop? It’s really hard to characterize Josh Small’s music, but few banjos have seen as many city lights as the that’s played on Tall, Small’s debut album. Easily ranked right up with the link-minded Backyard Tire Fire, Small displays an affinity for Sufjan-esque backwoods melodicism (the great “Arc de Triumph” which inexplicably turns into a sensational piano rocker during its last 30 seconds) and Pete Seeger folk-classicism (“Knife in My Belly”) in equal measures. Yet Small’s ace-in-the-sleeve remains his lyrics, which can occasionally dip into genre cliché, but more often than not simply knock you out (especially the lines “Well it seems my confessions / Sound more like impressions / Of the beautiful plays on the words” on “My Confessions”). While some may say that the banjo is nothing but a cornball instrument in these modern times, Josh Small is out to prove that the banjo—in fact—has a beautiful, weeping soul.
Evan Sawdey began contributing to PopMatters in late 2005 after contributing for years to his college newspaper
The Knox Student. Evan became the Associate Interviews Editor for PopMatters in the summer of 2008, and then the full Interviews Editor a year after that. Since joining, Evan's work has been quoted/featured in a wide array of publications including SLUG Magazine, The Metro (U.K.), the Gulf Times, Soundvenue Magazine (Denmark), and multiple national newspapers. Evan has been a guest on WNYC's Soundcheck (an NPR affiliate), was the Executive Producer for the
Good With Words: A Tribute to Benjamin Durdle album (available for free at
GoodWithWordsAlbum.com), and wrote the liner notes for the 2011 re-release of
Andre Cymone's hit 1985 album A.C. (Big Break Records) and the 2012 re-releases of
the JoBoxers' 1983 debut album Like Gangbusters,
'Til Tuesday's 1985 debut Voices Carry, and
Plastic Bertrand's 1978 album AN 1 (all Hot Shot Records). He is a current member of The Recording Academy and resides in Chicago, Illinois. You can follow him
@SawdEye should you be so inclined.
Josh Small - Come Down [Live]
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