Josh T. Pearson

In 2001, Josh T. Pearson's band, Lift to Experience, released their sole album, The Texas-Jerusalem Crossroads. It found rabid support from late BBC DJ John Peel, which led to a cult following in Europe. Yet, Pearson's reluctance to embrace the rock'n'roll life soon led him back to his native Texas, where he left the entire music business behind, turning instead to odd jobs to pay the rent. Last of the Country Gentleman comes on the heels of Pearson's tentative return in late 2009 opening for the Dirty Three, and the album's seven tracks are built upon Pearson's brutally honest meditations on his experiences. On the whole, the album is a challenging listen. There is no middle ground with the hazy subtlety of Pearson's vocals and acoustic guitar playing, but once totally committed to absorbing it all, the moments of clarity within the songs ― a few of which extend over ten minutes ― are devastating. As Pearson states plainly in "Honeymoon is Great, I Wish You Were Her": "I just didn't see this coming in my life." Anyone who has ever said that will find a lot to digest in Last of the Country Gentlemen.