Website [Release date 27.03.26]

Session musicians – a necessary cog in the wheels of the music industry, particularly for solo singers. Sometimes the session musician wants to break out of his backing role and be seen. Take Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones of Led Zeppelin or a bunch of top LA session players who became Toto.

You have to be at the top of your game to be a session muso, which is where Joe Hicks was before he decided to take the plunge and embark on a solo career. His guitar work is extraordinary, with a voice which reaches falsetto heights which most singers only dream of, and a lower range which cruises along like a laid back Sunday morning.

This is the second Joe Hicks (not to be confused with the 70’s soul singer) album. The first was released in 2022 with the wonderful title of The Best I Could Do At The Time. I’m going to check this album out just because of its cheeky title.

The first track is Time Is A Thief, and I was immediately reminded of late 60’s early 70’s pop/rock crossover band Traffic, and by sheer coincidence the synth led tracks Rollercoaster and Maybe remind me of 80’s Stevie Winwood, or was it not coincidence, I don’t know.

He plays acoustic and electric guitar, and his light fingerpicking acoustic style has drawn comparisons to Paul Simon. In fact, the tracks If Only and In The Silence, both acoustic led tracks are my personal favourites on the album, but I am a sucker for an acoustic guitar.

The whole album is shrouded in loss, the grief it causes, coming to terms with it and rising above it, but with quirky time signatures on tracks like The Architect and Face The Stone, and clever and unexpected arrangements throughout, the album is anything but melancholy.

The last track, Over And Out is a beautiful ballad, which ends with solo drums The first track starts with drums, not unlike Bowie’s Five Years, and in between there are pop moments, but it’s not pop music, there are rock moments, but it’s not rock music, and there are jazzy flourishes, but it’s not jazz music. It’s a cornucopia of mature in depth songwriting and playing, which all add up to making Joe Hicks an incredibly unique artist, and I hope he gets the recognition he deserves. ****

Review by Andy Sharrocks

Featured Artist: JOSH TAERK

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Power Plays w/c 16 March 2026

THE DEVIL WEARS NADA Brat With A Baseball Bat (Eonian Records)
ARANDA You Don’t Wanna Know (indie)
MYRATH Breathing Near The Roar (earMUSIC)
DELBHOY KENNEDY Sky’s The Limit (Flip Flop Records)
ALL THEM WITCHES Starting Line (BMG)
HER FURY Use And Abuse (indie)

Featured Albums w/c 16 March 2026

09:00-12:00 The Best of 2003 – 2025 (Melodic Rock)
12:00-13:00 The Best of 2003 – 2025 (Melodic Hard Rock)
14:00-16:00 The Best of 2003 – 2025 (Singer Songwriter)

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