A Canada-based composer, producer and songwriter, Andrew Judah is new to our blog thanks to his eighth album, Evergreen.

By Graeme Smith

As well as his solo work, Andrew is also part of the band nightshades. Evergreen is his eighth full-length album and showcases his chops as a multi-instrumentalist. Across the album’s eight track, Andrew performs on nylon string guitar, rubber bridge guitar, Nashville tuned Epiphone Casino, C# standard tuned Fender Jazzmaster, Silvertone 1448, Hofner bass, Squire bass vi, upright piano, drums, hand percussion, Mellotron, and a borrowed cello. He also did the recording, mixing and mastering for the whole album at Sounds Suspicious in Kelowna, British Colombia.

The album opens with its title track. We are drawn in by an ambient intro filled with the sounds of nature before a hypnotic acoustic guitar melody floats by. Things remain beautifully chilled before Andrew’s vocals injects a sense of emotion and we’re underway.

From there, we get seven more windows into Andrew’s world. Gentle meditations like Quiet Kid and Alora mingle with lusher moments like Abject Permanence and Elephant, building to a lingering conclusion in the album’s hip-hop-infused closing track, What Was Said & Not Said Is Enough.

There’s a timelessness about Andrew Judah’s sound that makes it really compelling. At moments in his new album, I was reminded on early ’00s sad-rock at its finest, with tracks like Elephant bringing to mind Starsailor at their best. At other moments, we are treated to intimate, emotional folk. It’s this kind of consistent nuance that gives the album its replay value.

Evergreen is out now and you can give it a listen below.