Well, Then, I’ll Go to Hell

Northplatte Records

Street: 11.12.13

Joshua James = (Brett Dennen x James Taylor) / Modest Mouse

I listened to this album six or seven times before I realized it—30 seconds into the second track, “Broke”—these are all Modest Mouse covers. Jesus, I am slow. But doesn’t that speak to how great Joshua James is? I had listened to reworked versions of some of my favorite songs from one of my favorite bands of all time, and didn’t even notice.

The entire nine-track offering is top shelf in every sense—production value, vocals, instrument arrangement—but the song that has been on repeat for me is “Gravity Rides Everything,” my favorite song from Modest Mouse’s The Moon & Antarctica. James’ take on it is everything a cover should be.

Like most of this album, it’s not merely a copy of a song, but more a rediscovery of the original work, now being described from a new perspective, through a new set of eyes. –Blake Leszczynski