Josh Thorpe

Glasgow-based Canadian Josh Thorpe announces the release of his album Love & Weather, out on 5th February 2021 via Unusual Music Exchange. Thorpe is joined on bass by Rory Haye (Alex Rex), and drums by Owen Curtis Williams (Withered Hand, eagleowl).

A spirited ode to an exploding world, Love & Weather pushes minimalist rock and roll to new places with alternative tunings, non-traditional structures, and song lyrics by turns funny and obscure. Thorpe takes cues from Toronto’s underground music scene ranging from Eric Chenaux to Sandro Perri and Jennifer Castle. Merging this sound with the likes of Velvet Underground, Sonic Youth, Kurt Vile and the sonic experiments of the '60s and '70s, Thorpe has cultivated a unique collection of songs for adventurous listeners.

Album opener ‘Rita & George’, almost eight minutes long, sets the tone as discordant guitars accompany by Thorpe's half-spoken, half-sung dream. Forthcoming single, ‘Manhattan’ is a dissonant celebration of New York, idle moments, and not getting to meet Thurston Moore. ‘Down To The Ground’ slows the pace; opening like Spiderland era Slint, the track flows seamlessly into Transformer era Lou Reed. ‘Why Try’ is an experimental tour de force, while ‘Honeysuckle Moon’ has the openness of Dirty Three, Yo La Tengo or Smog.

Thorpe is a visual artist who has made psychedelic installations of threads, balloons, and “a big public work of flags flying with stupid drawings on them”. The cover image of Love & Weather was taken by celebrated artist Angelica Mesiti, of Mathew McWilliams, who also shot the video for ‘Down to the Ground’, a view of Paris lockdown with humour and delight. In his earlier years Thorpe studied experimental music with James Tenney, who was a student of John Cage, married to Carolee Schneemann, and whose naked bottom can be seen in one of Yoko Ono’s films. The release of Love & Weather marks the launch of Unusual Music Exchange, a magazine without journalism, a library without order, and a label with no brand. Unusual Music Exchange will partner in 2021 with Canadian galleries YYZ Artists' Outlet and Dunlop Art Gallery on a series of productions on the creative possibilities in sound and listening.

The culmination of a diverse life that has seen Thorpe live in Toronto and now Glasgow, and make an indelible mark on the world of art, Love & Weather is an immersive assortment of reflections of a universe where people, animals, elements, and forces are all colliding in a ridiculous and wonderful mess.

Love & Weather is out on 5th February 2021 Unusual Music Exchange.