It's solid.
Posted August 01, 2008
By tobyMacrazed,
Josh Wilson's latest release "Trying To Fit The Ocean In A Cup", is definitely something to take notice of. It seems Wilson has the seemingly rare ability to stay positive without sounding happy-go-lucky. He can also address human issues without becoming emo. Such a compromise has become fairly hard to come by in recent years.
He starts off this new studio release with "The Saints". A solid song, one that indicates obvious potential for the following 10 tracks.
Some of the highlights of this album can be fond in the songs "Savior Please" a song about learning to rely on God because we can't handle this life on our own, "Let Me Love You" a track simply stating that we should allow God to love us for who we are, and "Beautiful Like This" the song consisting of adoration and awe of God for the way he loves us.
My personal favorite track probably has to be "Something's Got to Change", simply for its honest lyrics. This particular track ensured that I enjoyed this album. It expresses mankind's desire to find meaning in life, and how we try to fill the void with things that will never be up to the task. Deep down inside we all know that we can't numb the pain ourselves. In the end he explains how we need to put our selfish pride away and call out to God for help. It's so true, and very well put together. I'd recommend buying the album just because of this song.
Throughout the album you can just feel his passion for writing songs that relate to all of us, and can help build us up in one way or another. Just from listening to his music, I feel confident saying his heart is in the right place. I'm not one to jump on the bandwagon and listen to the popular music of the day. But, even though quite a few songs seem to have potential to become Christian radio favorites, I still enjoyed it.
However, at certain points, I had to question his songwriting ability. Some of his similes and metaphors such as "like flying around the world to get across the street", and even the line he got the title from "it's like trying to fit the ocean in a cup", seem to fall flat. It reminds me of Chris Rice's "Smell The Color 9". It probably sounded good when he wrote it, but it seems rather cheesy to me. But, then again, Chris Rice's song became popular, so maybe it's just a style preference.
I also had an issue with "Dear Money". I found his reference to money as an actual character, at the very least, a little odd. It's my opinion that he could have omitted that song and would have been just fine.
Probably his most famous track at the moment, "3 Minute Song", gives me mixed emotions. I've heard people complain about it being "really corny", but I somehow find it fairly catchy. It definitely has good thought behind it, and delivers a good message. It portrays the idea that we can't possibly define God, especially in a 3 minute song. Which is very true, considering how we can't even imagine putting God in a box. I would find it really easy to believe that many Christian writers struggle with that issue, I'm just not entirely sure he delivered it in the best song form he could have.
At times he seems to try too hard to get his point across, even at the expense of proper melody. I found just a few instances where he had a couple extra words, which then made the song feel somewhat cluttered. One example of this is in his "3 Minute Song" when he adds "or maybe four" to the end of a line in the bridge. I'm guessing the song would have sounded better without those three words.
In the end of it all, I think it's a good album, and I'm glad I have it. On the 11 song track listing, you can definitely find quite a few gems. It may not be my favorite album of all time, but I do believe it's a very solid record telling me to keep on eye on this guy. If you're a fan of the acoustic/folk genre, I would quickly recommend picking it up. View All Music And Book Reviews By tobyMacrazed | View tobyMacrazed's Profile
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