I've been asked by my friend Josh Doody to critique his songs. This is a real honor because he has given me full opportunity to be truthful. Being a songwriter myself I know how personal songs can be and telling someone to be blatently honest can open the door to criticism you just don't want. I know, for myself personally, all I want to hear is how good my songs are. Being my own worst enemy I usually kill most songs before anyone else can here them, so when I play a song for someone I have put my all into in and to hear that it was "ok" can just kill. Well, enough of me, you guys get enough of that on this page.

I've been listening to five tracks for awhile now trying to get a feel of Josh's style and groove. As far as style goes (and here I'm cheating because I know him personally) he is highly influenced by acoustic acts like The Dave Matthews Band, John Mayer, and Bebo Norman. His groove however is much harder to pin down. Josh has only recently started writing and recording his musings on life. As such, though all the songs are acoustic, they all have their own unique voice. My personal favorite is 'It's Not What I Need'. While this song is not the most intricate, nor the simplest, I find that the lyrics are the most personal. Because of this there is an urgency in his voice that doesn't surface in the two other vocal tracks. The praise song like cry of "I need your love" stirs something in me that agrees whole heartedly. 'Letting Go' is a pretty catchy little tune. The guitar work is not that difficult, actually it's rather repetative. But this is ok because the lyrics never really repeat. The hook seems to be "you'll never change a thing / just follow this ring to the end of your life." It sounds like something you've thought before but can't say why. It holds the song together well. Though I must say that my favorite line is "And when hope has left your eyes / Everything's coated in little white lies". I tend to like the darker more introverted lyrics and that just hits the spot nicely. Just like a frosty brew on a smoke filled porch. Or for those underage I would have to say it's like IBC Cream Soda on a hot summer's day. As a complete 180 to 'Letting Go', though being a bit dark sounds upbeat in some spots, 'Monotony' is dark through and through. Both the lyrics and the guitar work never you up. They draw you down into yourself to see things that you probably would rather keep hidden. It is something that must be experienced, you really can't describe it. The other two tracks are instrumentals. 'Jazz Lick' and 'Happy Times' show Josh's ability to do great finger work. While 'Happy Times does sound strangly similar to DMB it still does not fail to make my hand hurt just listening to it. 'Jazz Lick' I believe is a misnomer because it sounds more like a bluesy riff than a jazz riff, but I still enjoy it thoroughly. The harmonics that he does amaze me. Josh has explained to me how he did it, but it still never ceases to amaze me.

Overall you can see a progression as Josh finds his sound. His songs become more coherent, more complex, in music and lyrics. I'm really looking forward to living with him next year. The sounding board of another songwriter I believe will sharpen moth our skills.

That's the end of that review. Well, I've never done a music review before so it probably sucks, but really when it comes down to it who's opinion matters, your's or mine?