the Untitled.

This is an exceptional album from an exceptional artist. I highly recommend you find yourself a copy when it’s officially released on April 24th.

We saw Joe at SXSW. He was playing in a church at one in the morning on the other side of town from where we were. My traveling partners were convinced that we had to go.

He played right in front of the altar, bathed in a blue light. We’d been up for a long time, had a couple of drinks earlier that night (of course, there was no bar in the church), and I was nodding off in our pew. But as Joe performed, and as I slipped in and out of consciousness, I was struck by his songwriting and aw shucks manner. Dude was pumped just to be there, to have people in the pews that late at night.

This guy is the real deal. We’re calling him “the next Springsteen” — at least as far as storytelling goes. Generally speaking he’s a little more mellow than Bruce, but no less intelligent. He’s heartfelt, eloquent, and has something of value to say.

He closed his set in Austin with the last track from this new album, “Deep Dark Wells.” It was a beautiful way to say goodnight. As long as you’re not finished, you can start all over again.