“Open your eyes, look around you”, sings Pete Josef in ‘Spring At Last’, the first song from his album ‘Colour’. Well here at DMC we made the mistake of overlooking Pete Josef’s debut when it came out at the end of October. Josef, who has a lot of previous in Bristol including a stint with Reprazent, is a man whose flexibility and versatility between different forms of music is to be envied. ‘Colour’ enjoys a lot of different things, though jazz, soul and pop are high in the mix. What really elevates the album though is Josef’s masterful orchestrations, including a brass section who lend an unusual depth of expression to ‘Hope’. Josef does this himself, too, and songs like ‘Move On’ are full of powerful emotions and intense statements, while ‘Live Your Life’ gives an idea of the energy running through the up-tempo tracks. Josef’s voice is exceptional throughout, as indeed is the whole album. Not too late to buy yourself one before Christmas!
5 out of 5
Reviewed by Ben Hogwood
{http://soundcloud.com/sonar-kollektiv/01-pete-josef-colour-snippet}
