On his fourth LP release, The Suffering Stage, Milwaukee multi-instrumentalist singer-songwriter Joseph Huber delivers a series of eight poignant tracks showcasing his best songwriting to date, crafting an album that provides both comfort and companionship in the face of uncertainty. On the opening lines of “Sons of the Wandering,” the second track on the record, Huber sings, “Sorry friend, but I’ve got no answers for you. Truth is I’ve never been sure about a thing.” In many ways these lines help set the stage for Huber’s most ambitious release to date- both musically and lyrically. With his trademark humble frankness, Huber offers keen observations on our current world through the lens of an old friend you could easily see seated next to you with his guitar and harmonica in hand around a backyard fire.
It’s this warmth and intimacy in his tales and compositions that make Huber so profoundly accessible as a songwriter. From toe-tapping, feel-good boogies like “Playground/Battlefield,” and “15-10,” which feature longtime bandmate Jason Loveall rocking the fiddle with the fervor of a barn-dance leader, to introspective ballads like “You Showed Me,” and “Sea of Night,” Huber takes his listener on a journey through diverse experiences and observations on modern life from the vantage point of a songwriter who has seen a lot of life from his time traversing the open road.
Huber’s songs are lyrically driven, and nowhere is this better seen than on the title track, “The Suffering Stage,” which, clocking in at over seven minutes, serves as both the cornerstone and opus of the record. An outside-looking-in take on our modern social media driven and, at times self-centered society, Huber’s poised and well-crafted tale delivers with a lyrical depth and style that invokes memories of 1970’s Desire era Bob Dylan: “All you needed was a hand to hold, or an ear just to hear you cry; but everywhere you turn everybody’s busy learning their own damn lines; like a man ain’t more than just a penny in the tray.”
Huber’s songs are lyrically driven, and nowhere is this better seen than on the title track, “The Suffering Stage,” which, clocking in at over seven minutes, serves as both the cornerstone and opus of the record. An outside-looking-in take on our modern social media driven and, at times self-centered society, Huber’s poised and well-crafted tale delivers with a lyrical depth and style that invokes memories of 1970’s Desire era Bob Dylan: “All you needed was a hand to hold, or an ear just to hear you cry; but everywhere you turn everybody’s busy learning their own damn lines; like a man ain’t more than just a penny in the tray.”
Life is messy. There are no easy answers to how to navigate life in the 21st century, but if anything can be true of “The Suffering Stage” it is that you are not alone, and Huber’s 8 timeless tales masterfully weave you into the heart and soul of modern Americana as well, if not better, than some of his more well-known contemporaries.
“The Suffering Stage” is a brilliant record that I cannot wait to hear more of when Huber takes the stage at Anodyne Coffee in Walker’s Point this Friday, May 5th at 8:00 p.m.
