JOSH PYKE – ONLY SPARROWS

“I’ve been stepping on cracks just to see what’ll happen / Just daring that dam to break”. It seems, for Josh at least, that those dam walls are holding strong so far. Josh Pyke is a curious case. Because Pyke actually had his first “hit”-  Middle of the Road – released before his debut album it can seem he has been around for ages, that coupled with the seeming ease with which he writes classic mid 70’s style folk-pop songs means we sometimes under-rate his achievements in release three finely crafted albums. While his second album Chimney’s Fire lent a little further towards the melancholy, Josh has found a better balance on Only Sparrows as he tempers his tendency towards the dark side with  his ability to craft a well placed, up-tempo pop tune; making for Pyke’s most accessible release so far. There is the plenty for everyone; the classic Pyke-pop of Break, Shatter, Make, Matter, the radio friendly No One Wants A Lover with its sing-a-long chorus and hand-claps, and the autumnal acoustic folk of the albums closer Love Lies. The real secret here, lies with the artists sense of self-knowing: “‘If I could write a sad song every day of the week / I’d be the happiest fucker I know.’

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