Josh Thorner

Thorner bears an enviable likeness to Samuel Preston from The Ordinary Boys, and the range, power and style of his vocals are to be envied. - The Independent

Thorner bears an enviable likeness to Samuel Preston from The Ordinary Boys, and the range, power and style of his vocals are to be envied. - The Independent

Lead singer of West Country band Pinstripe, Josh Thorner is, at a very young age setting out on his very own solo musical odyssey. ‘Sound of the Drums’ his first EP finds him accompanied by the sparse instrumental surroundings of piano, strings and percussion. ‘She’s Gone’ finds Thorner in reflective mood and vocally finds him somewhere in Damien Rice territory. Building up to an anthemic conclusion that a later day Gary Barlow would be proud of, he’s both confident and accomplished in mixing love torn fragility with commercial pop sheen. ‘Love Bring You Down’ could also sell a bunch of records given the right amount of exposure on Radio 2 with percussion punctuating another very catchy Thorner lyric. Sound of the Drums is a slightly one paced affair and its lack of pure originality is compensated by Thorner’s emotional sincerity which is demonstrated on tracks like ‘These Feelings are Real’. With its polished production Josh Thorner is aiming for the bright new thing market, file under Elle Goulding et al. - Daniel Holloway from 'Room Thirteen'

Hailing from Bath, Josh Thorner brings us what can only be described as his extremely gentle voice, but that voice is capable of an exceptional range. He may look kind of like a character from Skins, but he plays piano in a way which would make anyone, including me, so envious. Throughout the album, Josh’s vocals aren’t strained or forced at all and his accent shows through at times, which I felt added a personal touch which can be lost via many similar voices. Josh isn’t on his own with the accomplishment of this EP; other members of the band include Laura Dickson (cello & vocals) and Liam Sealey (drums & vocals).

In particular, Laura’s haunting cello is beautiful. It really is quite rare to have a cello as one of the most focal points on an album. They’ve really held back on the drums too, sp that when they do present themselves, they sound fantastic and don’t drown out the softness of other instruments. I found with this EP that there is more emphasis on the lyrics as opposed to the entire make-up of a band.

The album starts off with the bittersweet song, ‘She’s Gone’, which is backed mainly by a melancholy cello and piano. Josh sings, “She’s gone, they’ve gone, she’s gone and I’m free”, it’s refreshing to hear someone singing positively about their experiences instead of moping about them, nice one. ‘Love Brings You Down’ is the third track and is where the drums properly kick in; it doesn’t overload it at all: without a doubt ‘Sound Of The Drums’ is a stripped back, calm album.

Finally, the title track ‘Sound Of The Drums’ has Josh repeating this over a steadily increasing drum beat, it’s fantastic. I have to admit this is by far my personal favourite on the album. These guys aren’t afraid of silence or singing acapella; they’re all talented musicians and are bringing something new and fresh to the table.

This is a five-track EP containing some of the most comfortably open songs of the late summer. Influenced by Thom Yorke and Damian Rice, Josh Thorner is set on the road bare foot with a guitar...and piano and cello and drums. - Laura Geary Griffin from 'Live Music Scene'