Frank Joshua - Victim (Numen Records)

I’m only two songs into my sonic journey with Frank Joshua, and I’m already amazed at how much he can do, musically speaking, with so few sonic threads. “Winter Cowboy” was my first encounter, and if the minimalism of his approach to song crafting there spoke volumes (pun intended), then “Victim,” his latest, takes the power of understatement to new heights.

This soft, seductive, piano-led ballad is a gorgeous and heart-tugging piece, less a song and more an artist building the most delicate sonics around the sound of the space that already hangs in the air. Atmosphere is the name of the game here and all Frank Joshua seems to be doing here is gathering those atmospherics in one place by gently tethering them with chiming piano lines, subtle string washes, and his hushed, harmonious, and warm vocals.

I say all, but it takes a lot of work to execute such an approach this well. Make things too understated, and you risk ending up with something too ambient, bland even , and too vague to catch the listener’s attention. Go in too heavy-handedly, and the bubbles burst. But Joshua brilliantly walks a fine line between emptiness and delicate creativity, in much the same way the watercolor artist leaves much of his canvas empty, merely suggesting the desired effect through fine lines and delicate washes.

Frank Joshua is a true talent, someone able to write captivating songs and do so out of the power of understatement, minimalism, and mere suggestion. It’s a rare skill indeed.

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