Tom Joshua grew up in Eaglescliffe, a small village in Stockton on Tees, which provides this singer-songwriter with a shed load of narrative inspiration. In 2017 he self-released his debut single “Meteor Showers” which attracted a great deal of media support from BBC Radio 2 and BBC 6 Music, clocking up over 1.5m worldwide streams and has spent the last eighteen months supporting various artists with shows across the UK. He has a four track EP called “Undergrowth” out this month.
This extended play opens with `Cinema` which is a mellow, piano-led quiet ethereal piece inspired by Showcase Cinemas at Teesside Retail Park, a place unchanged since Tom was a young boy and somewhere, he feels at home. His vocals are wonderfully delicate and rise above and between the musical accompaniment. There quite a rousing feel about `Knock On A Hollow` which relates to somebody pondering on life while banging on something hollow or empty.
Title track `Undergrowth` is overflowing with upbeat pop harmonies, some subtle guitar chords and conveys a tale inspired by a vivid dream-sequence and conceived while out walking his dog. A track that strolls along but erupts into almost anthemic interludes along the way.
There`s a much more dreamy feel to `This Still Life` unsurprisingly as it`s rooted in a place that the singer goes in his work downtime to relax and reflect on life. A short but quite mesmerising song.
” Undergrowth” was an enjoyable and engaging introduction for me to Tom Joshua. His songs have a real lyrical depth, while musically he`s quite eclectic and listening to this collection of tunes I can see why he has stirred the interest of so many people. It`ll be interesting to see how his career progresses.
Rating 8.5 /10
