There's Always a Second Time Around: John Paul White 'Beulah' Album Review

Like most people, I had no clue who John Paul White was until the Civil Wars formed back in 2008. I absolutely loved the music that this band released. The blending of John and Joy's voices was amazing. I was hooked and wanted more.  Unfortunately, they broke up in 2014. I decided to keep tabs on John (and Joy for that matter*) and hoped for some music as a solo artist.

My wish was granted recently as he released his second solo album, Beulah, on August 19th. I was lucky enough to catch John on tour before the album was released. He wanted to see what people thought about the new music. How they would react after being out of the lime-light for a while. Normally, when you go to a show, you know most of the songs played by the artist and you expect to be able to sing along. Not this time and John was just fine with that. I personally like that as well, and this show was no exception.  As John played through his new material, I quickly forgot about the Civil Wars. I was drawn in by the lyrics, the emotion, the darkness and the light. I walked out of this very small venue satisfied, but wanting to listen to these songs over and over again. I had to wait about a month, but now that the album is out, I have been able to digest these songs and have truly fallen in love with them. Songs that rose to the top for me: What's So, The Martyr, I hope I Die & The Once And Future Queen. John is currently on tour, if you have a chance to see him live, I would highly recommend it.

You can buy the album on John's website here and it is also available on iTunes & Amazon. It may be one of your best purchase in some time.

*P.S. Joy's album is good as well...that is for another blog.