Play 90 second soundbite of 'Think Twice' @ 'CD quality'
Bartholomew tackles the lot - multi-instrumentalist, engineer, producer and that's not even mentioning his absolutely amazing vocal work and stunning songwriting!! 'And So It Begins' indeed - surely this is just the start of something quite special - the birth of a new star of modern rock music, Joshua Bartholomew.
'And So It Begins' comprises two volumes; 'Nightside' and 'Dayside', in all, twenty fantastic tracks of superior contemporary music to chill and thrill to. I'm amazed at what a great musician this guy is but, I'm even more impressed with his vocal abilities; Joshua Bartholomew uses his voice in the same sort of way as the late and great Jeff Buckley. Perhaps a bit more mellow generally than Buckley and possibly a greater range but with that same ability to use the voice as an additional instrument, soaring, swelling and decaying with all the finesse and control you could possibly imagine - remarkable stuff, breathtaking!! Bartholomew can do emotional, he can do haunting, he can do cool, he can do power and he can do exciting - the man's got it all and I can see nothing but massive success for Joshua Bartholomew. But, this is one helluva work to have to follow-up - album two is gonna have to be something amazing to compete with 'And So It Begins' - t'riffic stuff - I'm totally blown away!!
It's always great to come across a special talent nowadays - Joshua Bartholomew is a case in point - Bartholomew's a true all-rounder - he writes supremely well and he's able to inject all the right subtle nuances into his vocal and instrumental delivery to bring his words to life. There's nothing at all to dislike about 'And So It Begins'; it's a mammoth work and Bartholomew has spent his time in the studio extremely well; everything's just so, precise, beautifully weighted, amazingly proportioned and crystal clear. Bartholomew hasn't indulged himself too much here either - he's ensured that his words and music are given every chance to be heard and understood by using his time in the studio thoughtfully and creatively; by diligently maintaining control and systematically enhancing the tracks to the point of perfection without abusing his freedom to enhance and taking things over the top. The result is as good as anything I've ever, yes ever, come across. 'And So It Begins' by Joshua Bartholomew is nothing short of brilliant - inspired, genius, special - what more can I say? Nothing, the album has to be allowed to speak for itself; good, world-wide promotion is now required to get the name and work of Joshua Bartholomew out to the influential types and the general public. Then watch Joshua Bartholomew take off!!
Bartholomew's talent, seemingly, knows no bounds; the guy's a genius and 'And So It Begins' is simply divine. 'And So It Begins' could easily become an album of our times - one of the big few - it's special, it's in a class of its own - stu-fucking-pendous!!!
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