When I first met Joshua Powell, he had just made the 5 hour trek from Indianapolis to Cleveland on very little sleep to play a Sofar CLE show at my photography studio in Lakewood, Ohio. He was a soft-spoken and humble dude who got the intimate crowd laughing at the jokes he made, mostly jabs at himself, his music process, and his trip to Salvation Mountain that inspired what would become his latest album, Psycho/Tropic.
Powell described how he smoked a lot of weed and hung out at the man-made shrine out in California and got inspired to write some new music. To him, Salvation Mountain spoke to him on many levels — from his childhood, to religious upbringing, and other events that led to his nomadic lifestyle before eventually settling down in Indianapolis.
Life evolved for Powell before Psycho/Tropic came to be. First, the band name. Previously known as Joshua Powell and the Great Train Robbery, the band has shortened its name to just simply, Joshua Powell. Next, the sound. What once took roots in folksy melodies, has now turned into the self-described psychedelic indie rock that completes Psycho/Tropic.
The tracks on this latest album are carefully orchestrated to take you on a journey with Powell. “Black Lodge (water)” starts with a soundbite of Merle Travis’ “Dark as a Dungeon” before moving into Powell’s dreamscape, seemingly an homage to West Virginia’s coal country and the times he spent there as a child. The religious undertones are not subtle and play a large role in the flow of Psycho/Tropic. Songs like “Bright Deceiver!” and “Ascension” bring to question one’s own mortality. Did I live a good life? What awaits me on the other side? These are the questions that are asked repeatedly throughout.
“Bliss is a Flak Jacket”‘s upbeat tempo creates an interesting break amid the starry-eyed ballads that preceded it.
Other notable songs include “Spirit of the Trailer Park” and “Mandala in Reverse.”
Powell effortlessly weaves together his life with a dream pop harmony that puts you in a meditative daze. Each song deliberate in how it’s presented so that it takes you on a journey right alongside the troubadour from Indianapolis. Psycho/Tropic is a deep, insightful work of art that Joshua Powell was meant to write and is not to be missed, but to be shared with the world.
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