Josh Joplin/Josh Joplin Group
The wait is over. Josh Joplin, one of the most striking songwriters and bandleaders of the early 21st century, released his first full-length album in ten years. Figure Drawing, on Joplin’s own independent label, NarrowMoat. The record features eleven new compositions by Joplin and a sound that combines his roots in folk music and his past success as an indie-rocker without shortchanging either development.

This is the third album credited to Among the Oak & Ash, the name of Joplin’s folk-rock collective since 2009. Joining the lead singer-guitarist this time are Fats Kaplin (Jack White’s string wizard), Bryan Owings (Emmylou Harris’s drummer), Allen Broyles (keyboardist for Kelly Hogan and Josh Joplin Group) and Wes Langlois (the guitarist who co-wrote two songs with Joplin).

The album's title comes from Joplin’s other creative pursuit: drawing and painting. A montage of six nudes from his sketchpad are on the record’s cover, and the songs inside the cover reflect the same commitment to observation: paying close attention to something and trying to describe it in as few lines as possible. On this project, the subjects of that observation are restless travelers, aging idealists, ex-lovers, long marriages, children, skeptical spiritual seekers, computers, flood victims, school shootings and especially the songwriter himself.
The title track is a jangly, folk-rock autobiography of a man who has suffered losses, rootlessness and fulfillment but still finds himself in the role of the detached observer, working on his figure drawing. “A Skeptic's Gospel” uses a folkie acoustic-guitar figure in an attempt to reconcile modern doubts with a sincere hunger for bedrock truths. “Tell the Ones You Love You Love Them” and “Just Ghosts” approach the same subject via dreamy pop soundscapes.
“Thoughts & Prayers” is seemingly about everyday school drills and birthday parties; the background threat of violence emerges only gradually. “Shifts That Transform the Heart” and “Me Then Now” boast bouncy, catchy hooks with indelible choruses. He hasn’t lost his touch for great songwriting and actually seems to have excelled further during his hiatus.
Figure Drawing is the eleventh full-length album of new songs that Joplin has released. After five self-released albums, Joplin was signed to Artemis Records in 2000, which rereleased Useful Music and The Future That Was. Useful Music, included Joplin’s #1 song charter, Camera One, produced by Talking Heads’ Jerry Harrison. A vinyl edition is planned for the award-winning record in celebration of its forthcoming 25th Anniversary.

Joplin’s experiences, from his early days as a Dylanesque troubadour-street-singer, to his mid-career success as an indie-rocker, to his graceful entree as an artist in middle-age, are all reflected succinctly, Figure Drawing, the broadest, deepest, and most beautifully balanced record of his career. His live performances are still refreshing in their emotional immediacy, balanced by his good humor and immense gift for storytelling. His return to music is like running into an old acquaintance you effortlessly pick right back up with and wish you hadn’t lost touch with in the first place.