Setting the frequency with refined electric guitar fused with pulsing bass, percussion details and immersive drums, Frank Joshua opens his new album, Sense Life, with the introspective lyrics, “I take emptiness in, take all that’s left, take hold of my heart, study it’s parts…”
Rain is the first song on the record, and is fulled with poetic lyricism taking us on a vulnerable journey as our protagonist sings, “I came by your window tonight and I can’t stop the pouring of the rain” as he serenades his muse.
We then experience Sense Life which is the title track of the record taking on a more vibrant and uptempo energy.
The enigmatic London based artist who has chosen not to unveil his identity yet, sings with wisdom, “Someone once asked me, do you want to feel? Do you want to Sense Life?” We love Frank Joshua’s tone and the intricate detail that has gone into this record, the bridge of Sense Life is cosmic and the nuanced details that Frank has scattered throughout the record really help to dimensionalize it.
Next up is Cry Blue, which is a more emotive composition with conceptual lyricism. “Only hearts cry blue…” sings Frank Joshua. We are hypnotized by the instrumentation in this track, and there are moments where the rising artist’s vocal delivery is reminiscent of George Michael.
If I is the fourth track on the record, featuring equally luscious production and introspective lyricism. “If I promised to myself that I truly wouldn’t care…” sings Frank Joshua with emotive prowess.
Frank Joshua “doesn’t like to show his face, as he prefers to let the music speak for itself”, which we actually love, as it the music really does speak for itself. The record is a high quality piece of artistic mastery and it is clear that Frank Joshua has put in more than his 10,000 hours before developing this journey.
There is a slew of semi-anonymous artists who have either used their facelessness as a media stunt or to create anticipation for an unveil. Orville Peck, Sia, Deadmau5, Sickick (who recently collaborated with Madonna) and Gwar are just a few.
For Frank Joshua, he is making a statement about the effects of identity and social media in our current age.
Five Minutes is the numerologically aligned fifth track on the record and takes on a more celestial tone with the artist’s deep vocal as he sings, “Five Minutes can cost you a lot. Maybe it all. It could almost be looked at as innocent.”
We love the conceptual and cerebral brand of storytelling that Frank Joshua is creating with this opus. Five Minutes is one of the moodiest tracks on the record and features a cinematic accompanying visual.
Panic In The Kitchen takes us to yet another dimension of the rising artist’s multi-genre soundscape, and demonstrates a more vulnerable side of the emerging artist as he sings, “It’s a place I can sit quietly with you, there’s a chink in my amour, a tear in the flaw…”
The seventh track on the record is Free which opens with an exquisite soundscape and the lyrics, “Today, love went away, that promised to stay, something’s gone but magic’s in my eyes…” as he makes peace with the new found freedom that the artist has found.
This leads us to Hope, Truth & Iodine which opens with timeless piano and the artist wailing emotively. The whole record is written by Frank Joshua, and produced by Tony White for Whitelight Production.
We love the themes of love energy, the truth and freedom that this record has taken us on. Touching upon sadness, elation, emotive resilience and the human condition.
The Greed and The Hunger delivers with an almost hybrid trip-hop vibe with our artist once again asserting his freedom.
The final composition Sense Life is Loneliest Place In The World which opens with a piano in the rain (a full circle moment) with bright cosmic details, before immersing us a delectable soundscape. It features the most experimental vocal production that we have experienced on the record so far. We are mesmerized as he sings, “this could be the loneliest place in the world…” with vocal layers and astral lyricism. The piano solo is rightfully out of this world.
We are excited to hear what is to come for Frank Joshua and have added Rain and Loneliest Place In The World to our New Music Spotlight playlist.