This album brilliantly embraces the confusion of each and every 20-something year-old and gives us all a reason to relax, put our feet up, and get back to communicating with each other; all while tapping our feet.

10 MP3 Songs in this album (38:48) !
Related styles: FOLK: Folk-Rock, ROCK: Acoustic

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Details:
âThe Rescueâ
Joe Paisley

Somewhere between the vast expanse of hardcore metal and acoustic rock one finds Joe Paisley, patiently strumming his guitar and suffering through his melodious lyrics. Paisley, amid the release of his second album, entitled âThe Rescueâ isnât battling demons on the forefront; rather, the eclectic artist faces lifeâs ordinary challenges with an insight, emotion and, most importantly, harmony and rock that few young artists convey. Think Kensrue, but with less piteous religion; think _______, but with more self-awareness.

Paisley has, for the second-straight album, fused his guitar and voice into his own musical style that plays without definition, according to the artist himself. Perhaps his fatherâs musical ear might label it someday, as he continues to drop the bass track for each of Joeâs songs. In âThis Town,â Paisleyâs first album, he took his listener through the interweaving highway of small town feeding profound emotion. Perhaps the greatest personal touch Paisley has fingerprinted on his music is the fusion of inter emotion meeting outside beauty â whether that beauty comes in the form of a dark-haired angel, a mountain top, or a family bond. More than just a lyrical scribe (think Bruce), he emphasizes his libretto with surprising, yet melodic, twists in chorus verse, making sure syllabic weight remains directed on his target (think Dylan). This target has bulls eyed his father and mother, his sister and brother, his love, and his hometown â all one and the same â with a zeal that keeps the listener entranced through the slower and faster chords, all which he mixes and blends himself.

For âThe Rescue,â Paisley has taken his first recordâs greatest strengths and applied them to his own authority â understanding emotion, namely his, and putting it to an acoustic tune that can often be mistaken for faster than it is. âThe Rescueâ takes on, at times, a guise for attacking modern issues of our world. In âDrop Your Flag,â the lyrics âThe way we looked before/these uniforms weâre wearing/took the shape around our chest/before we hide from graceâ¦â seem to instigate an attack on Americaâs war in Iraq; yet when one peers closer, rather there is a movement towards recognizing family and friends, bonds and love, knowing no bounds. Or boundaries. âThese city walls/are just like people/my family and my friends.â Paisley insinuates that judgment doesnât befall the action; itâs the emotional weight of the situation that he strives to capture. And does.

So what is the essence of Paisleyâs second album that might define it beyond itself? Itâs that there is no set motif. Itâs the artistâs shown humbleness towards having no answers, simply understanding and observing. Paisley moves away from preaching towards his listener â in fact, in âPick and Choose,â he takes a religious undertone and makes light of the situation that preaching belief often leads to confusing simplicity (âAll your words are in reviewâ¦/ A heavy book,/worth a steady look./But everyone who knows you/goes insane/in review/I take what I like/it's pick and chooseâ). He brilliantly embraces the confusion of each and every 20-something year-old and gives us all a reason to relax, put our feet up, and get back to communicating with each other, with nature: âThe future of this life/discovering that there is air./Some houses seem so dead;/their TVâs louder than the leaves.â (from âAlways This Easyâ)

It seems easy to assume that Paisleyâs variance in musical style throughout his life has led him to unchartered waters in his second album of acoustic rock. If itâs not heavy, how can it be acoustic and run with the same effect? Instead, he has synthesized genre lines and allowed himself artistic freedom to feel the music, rather than search for it. The end result is a dead honest approach to a life being led with few answers, and a genuine acceptance of it. Because, ultimately, when you have loved ones, a guitar, a studio, and a second album on the verge, there isnât too much to be angrily screeching about.

- James Cordes
09/08/08