Josh PykeJosh Pyke doesn't feel the need to reinvent himself with every record; in the same way that the stamp of Neil Finn or Paul Kelly is inimitable, so too is Pyke's deft approach to refined, layered melody and clever storytelling. The title track of his fourth record The Beginning And The End Of Everything is classic Pyke – citing the metaphorical wolf that pops up regularly throughout his discography, his gracefully tight lyrical style shines with the ease of an acoustic charm at once sensitive and robust. The instrumentation is near-perfect; intricate guitar and intelligent percussion overlay tinkling key flourishes and a wandering bassline, complementing the chugging pace of Leeward Side, and speaking volumes of his intuitive construction style.
As the opening vocal of ballad Haunt You Love recalls Sam Cooke momentarily, Pyke takes leave from his regular rhythms and styles guitar, banjo and harmonica with a slight country sweetness to lead into a chorus of immaculate harmonies. Co-writing All The Very Best Of Us with childhood friend Holly Throsby, the pair draw the best out of each other's performance; Pyke's open vocal style forces Throsby to finally use her full, gorgeous voice rather than those forced whispers, while Throsby encourages space in her friend's normally chock-a-block lyricism.
Pyke keeps The Beginning And The End Of Everything fresh by experimenting with new methods; he mixes in home-studio recordings, shares instrumentation with producer John Castle, embraces harmonica and banjo and tinkers with his trademark folk cadence. While somewhat lacking the punch-after-punch immediacy found in the impeccable melody structures of past efforts, it's still impossible for this bloke to write a crap song.
