Nashville singer-songwriter Josh Gilligan is still only in his mid- thirties but the way he speaks of this brief collection of tunes you might think he was twice that age.
He tells of feeling a pervasive sense of melancholy in his late 20s and early 30s and says of his debut record: “There are themes of depression and inertia, but it’s about coming to know myself enough to understand that this sadness is not the end. It’s not a downer record, but it has a certain gravity.”
His debut album is inspired by the 70s pop and soft rock of his childhood. Names like Paul Simon,Todd Rundgren, Wings, America and Christopher Cross are cited.
The centrepiece is Tightrope with lyrics co-written with Jacob Jeffries. It’s a song about how falling off the tight rope gets you back down to earth. Gilligan says ”I built everything else around that song.
About half of Party of One features Gilligan alone in the studio playing all the instruments. On the other half he has a backing band comprised of drummer Soren Burkum and two members of the Nashville instrumental group Disappearing Teeth Trick, guitarist Chris Peranich and bassist Ian Shaw.
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The eight track album starts with Anything and concludes with Everything, better than ending up with ‘nothing’ I guess!
It is gentle, affirmative and melodic yet, like so many easy listening records, it is pleasant on the ear while it lasts but far from memorable thereafter.
Gilligan says that creating these songs has given him a healthier perspective on his life so on that basis alone it counts as a success.
Josh Gilligan on Bandcamp
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