NEW ALBUM
OUT VIA 604 RECORDS
Multi-platinum songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Josh Ramsay (Marianas Trench) has shared his brand-new single “Spellbound,” a beautifully moving tribute to his mother. The new track comes from Ramsay’s debut solo album The Josh Ramsay Show.
“Spellbound” is a beautiful, strings-led elegy, featuring a glorious falsetto vocal from Ramsay and perfectly poignant lyrics: “Mama you’re magic to me now, I can remember every note you sang to me.”
“My mom was quite silly and magical, so that’s why that song feels a little bit goofy, a little bit like Disneyland. My mom came up musically in the late Sixties and early Seventies, so I was thinking about The Beatles’ style of songwriting: a simple pop song but all recorded with symphonic overdubs, songs like Eleanor Rigby or All You Need Is Love. So I thought that was really suiting for that song.”
No one can ever accuse Josh Ramsay of being a slacker. For almost two decades he has led the multi-platinum-selling Vancouver pop-rock band, Marianas Trench, while also collaborating with a wide range of other artists, most notably Carly Rae Jepsen, with whom he co-wrote her worldwide smash hit song, “Call Me Maybe.”
Ramsay definitely shows off a different side of himself on the album’s first single, “Lady Mine,” a blistering hard rock track that features a guest appearance from Nickelback’s Chad Kroeger, who, along with label founder Jonathan Simkin signed Marianas Trench to 604 Records in 2004. Ramsay also ventures into modern country on “Best Of Me” (featuring Dallas Smith), ‘80s funk on “Beat The Devil” (featuring Serena Ryder), dreamy, anthemic pop on “Can’t Give It Up” (featuring Tyler Shaw),” contemporary R&B on “Delirious” (featuring Fefe Dobson), pure poptimism on “Perfect Mistake” (featuring Ria Mae), and uplifting pop on “You and I” (featuring Fionn).
Co-mixed with longtime Marianas Trench studio guru, Dave “Rave” Ogilvie, The Josh Ramsay Show presents the most well-rounded portrait of Ramsay’s abilities, with the most notable possibly being how he was able to experiment so much on the album’s 18 tracks and still make it a coherent listen from beginning to end. Ramsay says, “When I started sending Rave songs, he said, ‘Don’t you know that when lead singers do solo records, they’re quiet, acoustic stuff? Did you not get the memo?’ But that’s exactly what I wasn’t going to do.”
However, The Josh Ramsay Show does follow the solo playbook of giving him an opportunity to open himself up more than he has in the past. Over the past two years, he’s experienced the pain of losing both his parents, along with the jubilation of getting married. All of those emotions come out on the songs “Miles And Miles” (featuring Ramsay’s sister Sara), “Spellbound” and “Like You Do.” It all adds up to The Josh Ramsay Show being a kaleidoscopic musical ride that is sure to change many people’s perceptions of Ramsay as a full-fledged modern musical auteur.
“I really wanted to write something upbeat, fun and irreverent, so I just hope it’s an uplifting listen for people,” he says. “I don’t think anyone needs to hear a sad-sack album right now. Losing your parents is a tough thing – something everyone will go through – but I’m in a positive place. So, even songs about that, I wanted them to be uplifting. I didn’t want it to feel like grief. I wanted it to feel like love.”
Follow Josh Ramsay Online At:
Website: www.joshramsay.com/home
Twitter: www.twitter.com/JoshRamsay
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Youtube: www.youtube.com/joshramsayofficial
Facebook: www.facebook.com/JoshRamsayOfficial
TikTok: www.tiktok.com/@officialjoshramsay
THE JOSH RAMSAY SHOW Tracklisting:
1. Lady Mine (feat. Chad Kroeger)
2. Blame It On The Beat
3. Best Of Me (feat. Dallas Smith)
4. Army Of One
5. You & I (feat. Fionn)
6. Delirious (feat. Fefe Dobson)
7. Painted Faces
8. Spellbound
9. Try Me
10. The Ballad Of Cheeky Valentino
11. Beat The Devil (feat. Serena Ryder)
12. Like You Do
13. Perfect Mistake (feat. Ria Mae)
14. The Deep Woods
15. Reckless Heart
16. Like There’s Nobody Watching (feat. DJ Sharkpocalypse)
17. Can’t Give It Up (feat. Tyler Shaw)
18. Miles And Miles (feat. Sara Ramsay)