Scene and Heard – CCXXXII : 17 –  Joshua Ketchmark (reviewed by Dave Franklin)

There seems to be a fad in the last few years for people attach such importance to the passing of the great and good of the rock and roll generation that we forget to highlight some of the amazing artists coming through to fill their shoes. I get that the era of the rock star has passed and a music career is built on very different tenets now, but the oft used phrase of “we won’t see their likes again” is one that really grates, we will see it, we are seeing it..it is all around us if only we look.

Obviously I shouldn’t try to sum up a musician on the strength of just one single, but I will go out on a limb and say that when the inevitable happens and Neil Young heads for that great subsidised farming co-operative in the sky, his fans will be able to find solace in Joshua Ketchmark and songs like 17.

Built of the same raw emotion, simple but far from simplistic song lines, haunting vocals, though pitched in a more accessible place, 17 is a fantastic piece of acoustica, an outpouring of the soul and a song which tips its hat to the classic singer-songwriter whilst helping to write the next chapter of their history. You can’t ask for more than that really!