Thinking Too Much

the take

I am not a country music fan, which honestly makes it even crazier how much I loved Thinking Too Much by Joshua Slone. From the first song, it felt less like listening to an album and more like sitting across from somebody telling you the truth about their life with a guitar in their hands while they did it. The vocals are raw in the best possible way. not overly polished, not trying too hard, just painfully human. Pair that with the clear, pensive acoustic guitar work and these deeply heartbroken lyrics, and it becomes the exact type of music that gets stuck in my chest for days. This album feels rainy, restless, lonely, reflective… all the emotions that make music feel alive. And let’s be honest, we all be thinking too much. What impressed me most is how confident this sounds for a debut album. A lot of first projects feel like artists testing the waters or trying to imitate whoever inspired them, but Joshua Slone already sounds like himself. There’s a sincerity throughout the entire record that’s hard to fake. Even the quieter moments carry weight because you can tell he means every line he’s singing. The songwriting isn’t trying to be flashy or overly poetic it’s just simple and honest, which somehow makes it hit even harder. You can hear the potential of somebody who could become a massive artist over the next few years if he keeps leaning into this sound. My only real criticism is that nearly every song replicates each other in different ways. The pacing, tone, and instrumentation can blend together after a while. But honestly, the songs are so consistently good that I almost don’t care. Instead of feeling repetitive, the album starts to feel immersive, like one long late-night conversation. Thinking Too Much is one of the most emotionally genuine debut albums I’ve heard in a long time, and I genuinely cannot wait to watch where Joshua Slone goes from here. 9.5/10 🤠🤠