Joshua Tell - Joshua Tell

Joshua Tell

Joshua Tell
self-released; 2021

4.0 out of 5

By Dino DiMuro

Joshua Tell is an American singer/songwriter based in Germany since 2012, where he studied classical guitar and built a collection of his own original folk songs. He’s toured with musicians from across the globe, and his self-titled debut album Joshua Tell is available both on vinyl and by download. 

Tell explains that this album features some of his favorite compositions from his 20’s: “I’d been carrying (these songs) around for quite a while, and wanted to record before losing touch with them.” As influences he mentions country icon Kris Kristofferson along with folkies Sufjan Stevens, Paul Simon, Gordon Lightfoot and Phil Ochs. Most of the album was recorded live with his band in three days, with the next nine months spent adding additional songs and overdubs. His band includes Spanish guitarist Jaime Velasco, double bassist Pierce Black and drummer Nico Stallmann, plus special guests. 

To get the obvious pun out of the way, the artist’s name is Tell, and he does indeed tell stories… but I mean he REALLY tells stories! Most of his songs have lots of lyrics, and while that’s not unusual for folk or country songs, Tell obviously takes his time crafting his narratives which are all printed on his Bandcamp page.

“For the Tree Buds” starts the album on a hushed, solemn footing. Tell sings and picks a minor chord pattern on his acoustic totally solo. This short track is the most recent composition on the album, and equates the changing of the seasons to the cyclical nature of existence. The next two songs move the album into a storytelling groove, which makes sense as they were actually written for a radio play about outlaws during the Civil War. “Cat Dalton” kicks in at double time and introduces Tell’s musical guests. The opening lines will give you the idea: “The coach, it pulled into the town, it opened up its door / a lady with an eyepatch stepped down, black the cloak she wore / a bona-fide cold-blooded killer, weathered by the war / she still stood just to settle one last score.” The lyrics only get better from there, with the richness of a good dime-store novel. The folk-country arrangement fits the story quite well with especially nice slide acoustic guitar. “Bayonets and Banners” continues the story, now back to a slower contemplative tempo. This song so vividly describes the horror of the Civil War that I could imagine it as part of a Ken Burns-style documentary. This track also features Nathan Bontrager on cello. An early high water mark!

“An Echo” reminded me of John Prine. Its bluegrass instrumentation (featuring Philipp Keck on dobro and banjo) and the overall feel again takes me to the dust bowl, though I’m fairly certain Tell’s story of love found and quickly lost takes place in modern times.“Stay a While” is a duet with experimental electric guitarist David Sophora and is based on a poem by Yeats. It’s a nice track but in all honestly I prefer Tell’s singing voice to his narrative style.“This Time with You” is more traditional folk-country with both a Dylan and Dire Straits vibe. “Bag Salad” is a humorous story-song about lost baggage at the airport, which Tell performs as if he’s just sitting around with his pals (which includes Pit Lenz on harmonica). 

“Mr. Please!” features Joon Laukamp and Miclen LaiPang on sweet country fiddles for an upbeat hoedown; Keck again shines on dobro and banjo. “Winter Song” reverts to Tell’s quiet, foreboding style with atmospheric, snoring cello by Nathan Bontrager. It’s a close thing but I may prefer Tell’s slower songs to his rave-ups. “Frank and Joan” is something of a surprise folk-rock ballad which owes more than a little to the Beatles, making for a nice contrast to the more country cuts. The final song here “Rosy Cheeks” is also the oldest composition, and brings the set to a gentle conclusion with just vocals and picked acoustic for a ’70s folky lament.

​This is a great collection of heartfelt songs, and I loved the idea of Tell raiding his back-catalogue to present a mosaic of emotions from earlier in his life.

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