Second Stage: Josh Mease

by Robin Hilton

Download "You Found Me" by Josh Mease (Right-click or control-click to save to your computer.)

A Brooklyn-based singer-songwriter, Josh Mease has put together one of the strongest debuts I've heard this year. It's called Wilderness. Mease recorded much of it by himself in a closet in his apartment, but had help from a handful of friends, during additional recording sessions in Denton, Tex., and New Haven, Conn.

Mease is an unabashed daydreamer, and the songs on Wilderness offer a glimpse into the magical, imaginary world he inhabits. It's a world he says he found by roaming the quieter streets of Brooklyn, looking for solace in "cemeteries, empty swimming pools and abandoned waterfronts."

Wilderness is beautifully crafted with some lovely melodies and harmonies. Mease has a warm and distinctive voice, and a real ear for arrangements that sound lush without becoming too cluttered. It's the kind of album I can fall in love with from the opening notes of the first track.

This, in fact, is the opening cut to Wilderness, called "You Found Me."

Bonus Track: Here's a video for another track on Wilderness, called "White Diamonds."

You can pre-order Wilderness through Josh Mease's Web site.

Subscribe to the Second Stage podcast to automatically download each song to your computer.

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1:29 PM ET | 07-14-2009 | permalink

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