Since You Had A Hold On Me / Stick Or Twist Review

Since You Had A Hold On Me / Stick Or Twist by JOE HODGSON is a beautiful collection of two blues rock anthems. I love the concept of a two song EP, with each track only having the contrast of the other, it allows each song to tell an individual story while also having an entirely different context with the contrast of the other song. It really does feel like two sides of the same coin, each of the two tracks showing a different perspective on the same theme. The first track, Since You Had A Hold On Me, explores a tumultuous love story. The guest vocalist, Glen Harkin brings the track together with his earthy and emotionally candid vocal performance. You almost get the sense that he’s hiding the emotional resonance of the lyrics behind the grit of his vocal performance.

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This song feels like a duet with the guitar playing the alternative side to the vocal. It almost plays like an argument between lovers with the vocals performing one of the roles and the guitar performing the other. Each string of narrative weaved by the vocal feels like it is bounced off or acknowledged by the ever present guitar. Instead of simply establishing a melody or rhythm, the guitar ebbs and flows, constantly shifting in tone and timbre, making it feel more like a train of thought than a traditional melodic structure. Although the second track, Stick Or Twist leaves room for interpretation, the artist, JOE HODGSON sees it as a prelude to the chaos and dysfunction chronicled in Since You Had A Hold On Me. The flow and overlap of dissonance and harmony in the layers of sound set the perfect tone throughout the soundscape to create this picture of a calm façade, hiding a lot of chaos under the surface. The ability to weave such a  complex narrative with a purely instrumental toolkit suggests a musical awareness and maturity that is rare to find. I’m excited to see what JOE HODGSON does next.