Josh Righton released his latest EP Dance Songs For Awkward Parties in November last year, and the acoustic singer-songwriter from London has come out with some great tunes.
The EP opens up with Smoking Kills, a short song at just over a minute, but by no means one that doesn’t instantly show just how good this EP is going to be. Starting off with a slow strumming acoustic guitar and some words about, well, smoking kills, before diving in headfirst to the up-beat section, going further with the message of smoking kills. The track is ended with an unexpected yet brilliant trumpet solo. This song definitely has Gaz Brookfield Diabetes Blues vibes to it.
Next up is the title track, Dance Songs For Awkward Parties. A cheerful folk style song that delves into the thoughts and feelings of introverts at house parties. This is one that is very relatable to a lot of people who know that feeling of being lost in the sea of people. Drawing to close with a mandolin solo before one final chorus, this song is one I can see going down well at gigs.
I Like The Way You Make Me Feel is next, a song that, in my opinion harks back to a quote from Frank Turner – “Life is about love, last minutes and lost evenings”. Exploring last minute plans, love and even an electric guitar solo, this song is one I already find myself dancing around the house to.
This is followed by Dissertation Song. With a slightly different opening to the first three tracks, the almost reggae beat puts you into a jammin’ mood. This song talks about procrastination, another thing most of us are all too familiar with. Any of us who have decided to undertake a long term project will understand the frustration of the lack of motivation that Josh sings so well about. This song harks back to some of the early Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly. songs, especially, in my opinion, invisible.
Up next is Just For Today. A happy and uplifting song, trying to put some positivity amongst the downsides that is modern life. As much positivity as the song tries to promote, a lot of sadly doesn’t stand well in light of recent events – I’m not going to be visiting any galleries soon. Ending with choir like sound, this is definitely one with upbeat overtones.
Fake Promises opens up with a piano and bass guitar solo, over a cool drum beat. Coming in at nearly four minutes, this is the longest song of the EP, but this love-song confessional is one that captures the listener and gets them bobbing along to the beat.
The penultimate track on this EP is Nerd For You. Opening with an electro-harmonix beat, it makes me think a little bit of Dardude: Sandstorm, while giving another message of love and hope. With lyrics and melodies that take most of us back to our teenage years, this is one that I can feel myself singing away to.
The EP concludes with One Of The Greats. Another song clocking in at just over a minute long, this gives the EP as a whole a nice cyclical structure, and paired with the similarities in styles with Smoking Kills, makes the whole EP one that I can listen to over and over again.
In short, Josh’s latest EP is one that we could all sing and dance along to and have a merry good time while doing so. I wish him all the best for the next year, with whatever it brings.
Josh is doing some live stream gigs over the next few weeks. Head over to his Facebook page to find out more
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