âOnward and Sidewaysâ album review
By Cheryl Minns, Arts Editor
5/5
Joshua Radin is back with his sixth studio album, featuring a series of love songs written to win over a reluctant love interest. Onward and Sideways, released January 6, was written by Radin while lying sideways across a bed in a Stockholm hotel room, having travelled to Sweden for a break from music.
âI had met this woman six years ago and we were friends for the last five, but we started dating a year ago. At first it was long distanceâshe was living in Stockholm and I was living in Los Angelesâand she was very wary of getting involved. Essentially I wrote this album to convince her to fall in love with me,â Radin explained in a press release from Wax Records.
Onward and Sideways is filled with upbeat songs that will make listeners smileâespecially âBelong,â which is sure to get listenersâ tapping their feet to the beatâas well as slower songs like âOne and Onlyâ that are perfect to listen to at the end of a busy day.
The fifth track on the album, âIn Your Hands,â features the line, âTwo days since Auld Lang Syne,â which gives the album a timely feel with its release shortly after New Yearâs Day. Itâs followed by a line that many people who make New Yearâs resolutions can relate to, âYou donât like the shape youâre in.â
The first single from Onward and Sideways, âBeautiful Day,â is a remake with Sheryl Crow of Radinâs song from Wax Wings in 2013. The song matches the albumâs sound and fits well as the third track. While the original version would have sufficed, turning the song into a duet helps drive home the idea that the album is about a relationship between two people, emphasized by the âbeautiful dayâ they have.
Onward and Sideways is currently in the Top 20 bestselling albums on iTunes this week, with âBeautiful Day,â âBelong,â and âWeâll Keep Running Foreverâ as the bestselling tracks from the album.
Radin will be touring across Canada in February, performing at the Rio Theatre in Vancouver on February 27.
