Heaps of celebrations await Sydney, Australia-based indie pop-rock band Josh Orange as they ring in their twentieth year of making sweetly crafted melodies and deliver their fifth studio album, Birds for the Bayou. Released last week on June 28th, the versatile record was brought together by acclaimed Sydney mixing engineer Ben Worsey of Everland Studios.
After securing three No. 1 singles on Australian AMRAP Metro with “Midnight Lights,” “I Will Follow You,” and “I Feel Love,” as well as winning the 2022 SAW Mid Atlantic Songwriting Competition in Washington, D.C., Josh Orange continues to hone in and reimagine their sound. With their most stop and start album to date, Birds for the Bayou is inspired by their resonance with the non-mainstream Mississippi Bayou, a perfect oasis for natural growth.
Setting that Bayou scene with harmonious imagery, the title track, “Birds for the Bayou,” greets listeners with serene aviary whistles and a slow-rising bubbly guitar that welcomes calming lyricism from Dublin, Ireland’s Gordon Burke to craft the song’s overarching peacefulness. “Radiance abounds / Over us now,” sings Burke, capturing the effect of the tune serenely.
Tastefully dissonant keys join the ever-giving guitar for the sixth track on the album, “Devil at the Backdoor,” which has a distinctly vintage, yet original sound, as it houses the playfulness of a Modest Mouse song and The War on Drugs-style vocals while keeping their pop folk roots at the forefront of the sound.
“Looking for the answer / In someone else’s hands,” hums through “Easy on Me,” a graceful and shimmering reflection of the unspoken truths one holds when facing periods of pain and vulnerability. The cohesive waving instrumentation nurtures a relaxing timbre for these lyrics, full of understanding and expression, that hold weight in some way for every listener.
Softly combining ballad-like vocals and happily reminiscent campfire guitar, “Candy Girl” paints a beautiful ode to a woman robbed of her innocence yet perseveres with strength and self-generated drive regardless. The album fits its nuanced and diverse topics neatly with dynamic and instrumentation shifts between each song, accustomed exactly to the right feel.
Finishing off the album with a hopeful and triumphant vibe, “I Feel Alive – Kick It,” and its stomping poppy percussion take the listener along on the march forward toward feelin’ good and kickin’ back. A great coming-of-age style bop, the song’s accompanying keys drive the main message as they float over the main instrumentation like a falling feather.
Recorded over long, tumultuous days from late 2023 to April 2024, Birds for the Bayou showcases the talent of Burke (lead singer, songwriter, guitar), Andrew Wass (guitar, vocals), Alex Miller (drums), and Gavin Perkins (bass guitar). Their tracks have reaped the magic of Worsey before, notably with Josh Orange’s April single, “The Last Time.”
A wonderfully creative twenty-year ring-in, Josh Orange’s Birds For the Bayou hits the summertime spot, and with their revamped sound under thoughtful inspiration, they’re making their way through the mainstream carrying that down-stream authenticity.
