Today's blog post comes courtesy of Eleanor Osada, Joe Brooks fan and potential blogger extraordinaire.
In case you're not familiar with Joe Brooks, I'll set the scene with a few choice facts about his career so far;
Joe spent over a year as the number 1 unsigned artist in the UK on MySpace
His first videoSupermanclocked up over 1 million views on You Tube in the first week and over 2.5 million in total.
2009 saw him perform two sold out tours as an unsigned artist
Joe kicks of his UK tour later this month so if you're looking for a musical treat of an evening go and check him out when he's in the 'hood. And now, after that great factual fanfare, I hand you over to Eleanor......
I was looking for something new to listen to, when I saw a friend post a link on another friend's Facebook wall. It was a song - Joe Brooks' "Superman" to be precise. I clicked on it to listen, just out of curiosity and within the first 30 seconds, I fell in love with his music. I immediately opened iTunes and looked to see if he had an album; and there it was - "Constellation Me". Without hesitation, I bought it straight away.
Joe makes a great addition to the pop-scene - there are too many rap artists that rap about sex and drugs, but Joe sings about true love, belief and... Life! I listen to his album EVERYWHERE. School, walks in the park - even just as I'm about to go to sleep. The first track "World At Our Feet" is a delightfully optimistic. This track is about how it's best to do as much as you can and live your life to the full - as the title suggests, the world is at your feet and it's awaiting you to take up the opportunities.
"Lead the Crowd" is a personal favourite of mine. It's about doing your own thing and being yourself, and not being 'a clone' - just being original. It's very positive. "Hello Mr. Sun" is another favourite of mine. It's mainly acoustic, and it's very hopeful. Again, like a lot of his songs it refers to the weather - and how the sunshine tends to cheer everything up and put people in a good mood.
"Rules of Attraction" is a slightly different song. A mix of folk, country, and a slight sprinkle of rock. I think it's about how he gets really attracted to girls easily, and he may have a little flirt with them - but the girls think it's real love, and Joe is trying to say it's just the fact they're pretty - no real love involved, and he doesn't want to break their hearts.
Overall, this album is a beautiful variety of gorgeous, meaningful songs that are optimistic and relatable. I rate this album 5 stars - I thoroughly recommend it!
Big thanks to Eleanor, our competition winner who has also won tickets to see Joe live in Newcastle. Enjoy the gig Eleanor!