Joshua Josué’s “Tipping Point” grabs your gut with a love you need to end
This coming week, Wednesday or Thursday, blues fans will be able to hear the latest single from Chicano-American artist Joshua Josué, “Tipping Point”, a song that not only grabs your gut like the blues should, but addresses a contemporary problem that many talk about, but few ever catch the essence of, addiction, in this case to alcohol.
When I heard about the planned released I jumped at it to see if it embodies the blues and the feeling of loss the way his song “She is Guadalajara” does, which I reviewed back in August. It does. It has that indelible, unmissable Joshua Josué stamp on it – this time in dreamy blues rather than the dreamy alt rock of “She is Guadalajara”. Pure Joshua Josué; pure joy.
The tipping point in “Tipping Point” is tequila and whether or not to keep it as a daily friend, or put it away, i.e., stop drinking. Joshua Josué approaches his subject, alcoholism, as a break from a loved one in a toxic relationship.
I swore death we were over/But I cracked another bottle/ and we were back together again, he sings, both a lament and a relief. He tells us he doesn’t know which when he sings I forget I’m forgetting and Ben Rice’s guitar chords twist your insides when Josué pleads Curb the thoughts I am fighting/And I have reached my tipping point.
But instead of the “she done gone and left me” motif of classic blues songs, he weaves a tapestry of moody, mysterious, and romantic lyrics about the pain he must face to leave and save himself.
His inspiration is both personal and universal. “Tipping Point” will strike a chord with fans for its authenticity and raw honesty, and relatability to so many with addictions, whether it be alcohol, drugs, social media, porn, thrills. He faces the toxic love of his life, and the heartbreak of leaving it behind. True blues for today.
Like all Joshua Josué songs it is a passionate blend of Mexican and American styles – Ben Rice’s almost painful blues guitar riffs, Joshua’s down-deep vocals, a steady R&B beat that switches into high tempo complex drum- driven beat as the lyrical urgency ramps up.
The blend comes from who he is – a Chicano/Americana artist in the tradition of Hermanos Gutiérrez, Los Lobos & Enrique Bunbury, with a very distinctive style that pulls together his inspirations from his idols. It also emerges from where he has come from – fronting the band Los Perros Olvidados, music tours by motorcycle through Latin America which included tequila-fueled trips riding with Mexican motorcycle clubs, headlining shows on the West Coast of the United States , and a homebase in Portland Oregon.
O this week, kick back and let Joshua Josué and the guitar of Ben Rice, grab your gut and maybe face a love you need to end.
“Tipping Point” will be on major streaming platforms at the end of this week.
