The word ‘debut’ can often be a little misleading. Some come with fanfare and overhyped buzz. Others far more deserving ones arrive more quietly. The latter is true for singer-songwriter Joseph Shipp, who is an upstart as a recording artist, but an accomplished artist in his four decades as an award-winning graphic designer, a photographer, and an accidental archivist who grew up around his parents’ photography business. These artistic pursuits give him a perspective and a keen observant sense that few other ‘beginning’ singer-songwriters possess. Free, for a While centers on his family’s move back East to just outside of Nashville, after spending six years in the Bay Area.
The album is co-produced with Grammy-nominated Andrew Sovine (Ashley McBryde). The lightly strummed “Rest Assured,” the opener, comes across as a kind of sarcastic gospel hymn with its chorus “Rest assured no one is going to help you now.” The song lays out themes that run as a common thread throughout the album in terms of struggles with religion, isolation, and feeling of helplessness. “Where You Are” has a much more vibrant kick but is a prototypical pandemic song that speaks to losing touch with the world when one never leaves the house. Rather presciently, Shipp wrote the tune in 2019, not knowing that we’d all be staying home the following year. While these two songs are direct, “Green Grows the Laurel,” is taken from a British folk song, with a few updated lyrics. The green is meant to signify Irish political loyalty but the coupling of the insertion of his own lyric “I lied to you/ About how I feel” may point to political undercurrents. The elegiac “Only the Moon” deeply expresses feelings of grief as he copes with loss. Sovine does a terrific job of creating a haunting, eerie musical backdrop that enhances the feelings of confusion.
The pivotal track is “American Man,” (“I’m an American man, whatever that means”), which bitterly attacks Southern prejudices both directly and subtly, calling out the bullies, testosterone-hyped types, and religious hypocrites. Moving from a folk-like mode into a Petty-like jangling guitar mode on another standout track, “Turned Into Someone Else,” we find the protagonist seeking freedom for himself. The album title takes its name from the chorus and it’s an ideal song for one of those let-the-wind-blow-back-your-hair car rides. The third in this sequence is also a strong one, with its infectious hooks. “550 Sq Ft” is an ode to his wife and the apartment they shared while living in San Francisco.
The tone changes dramatically from engaging roots-rock to a darker folk mode, first with the true story song “Late October Mist” that deals with the pandemic; and then with the more abstract “dod,” with its heavy, ominous chords depending on one’s interpretation could be the story of a bitter lover or a paean to “days of darkness” (just a guess on the ‘dod’). This unsettled mood carries into “Beast in the Attic,” while the closing “Lonely Youth” has Shipp accompanying himself only on acoustic guitar as he sings about growing up as an only child, trying to find sustenance in the past.
Kudos to Shipp and Sovine for varying the sonics and moods. The three-song sequence in the middle of the album is especially strong. Some of the darker material is less accessible and challenging but Shipp comes across as a veteran far more so than a rookie in this auspicious debut.
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