Cleveland's Joshua Jesty To Release Two New Albums and Play Two Release Parties

Joshua Jesty. Credit: Courtesy of Joshua Jesty

Local singer-songwriter Joshua Jesty, a fixture on the local scene who’s put out solo albums since 2000, has just announced that he’ll release two full-length records next month.

The first record, Welcome to Rock Bottom, features songs culled from sessions that took place from 2020 to 2023.

“The songs jump around in genre and mood while sticking to the sarcastic wit and indie rock driven hooks Jesty has been known for,” reads a press release. “Songs that are one two punches of heartache and guitar solos like ‘Get Out of My Head’ and ‘Baby I’m a Trashfire’ give way to ballads about not quite connecting. By the time you get to the bouncy closer ‘Belly Pillow,’ you’ll not be able to say the music left you at a standstill.”

The second record, A Short Car Ride, finds Jesty writing tunes about love “disguised as death songs” (an inversion of Jesty’s “songs about death, disguised as love songs,” a motto he puts on various business cards and websites).

“This record, while still full of hooks and thoughtful lyrics, has more of a sonic theme that feels more reverb-soaked and tiptoes around being ambient,” reads the press release. “Whereas Welcome to Rock Bottom feels a bit more upbeat and willing to change its clothes often, A Short Car Ride seems to revel in finding a space sonically and thematically about love and loss, and if the two ever actually are the same, and sticks with it til its final breaths.”

To celebrate this double shot of music, Jesty will play two separate release shows with his band, the Succession of the Plebs. The first takes place at 9 pm. on Friday, May 2, at the Five O’Clock Lounge in Lakewood. The Faraways and Well Worn Grooves Nite Klub and DJ Sam Sinister open.

Then, Jesty plays on at 8 p.m. on Saturday, May 3, at the Treelawn Social Club. Maura Rogers and the Bellows and the Cowboy Princess Brigade open that show.

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