Rapper/songwriter/spoken word artist Bent Joshua shares his new album At My Wits’ End. The 8-track body of work covers a range of emotions. From anger, sadness, fear, love and reflection, Bent gives audiences an authentic and candid take on his life.
To start, Bent Joshua’s spoken word background ties into his style of rapping and songwriting as he can eloquently describe his feelings with a touch of poetic licence. The opening track “Coffee” deals with coping mechanisms and habits, here Bent talks about coffee from a figurative view and explores the emotional side of things with a vivid story that revolves around human interaction and inner feelings. This is followed by the reflective “Open Sea” which starts with a sad string-driven backdrop and sombre vocal sample. Bent once again dives into a journey of self-reflection and the never-ending search for internal solace as he drifts off into the open sea hoping to find a life-changing experience. Next is the R&B-infused tune “Let You Go” which talks about a relationship gone sour and how the love still lingers on. Bent gives the audience a full account of his past love with lines like “I Never took you for a vulture/Tried to keep that door opened but you were just not having it/Drinking hot tatties because the thought of you makes me sick” which shows degradation and dissolution. Despite this, the memories he shared with his ex-lover still fester and in a way are slowly killing him. This leads into the dark and brooding “Nightmare” which takes audiences into the dark crevices of Bent’s mind where we see the intrusive thoughts growing louder and louder. “Wears a Smile” starts with a solen guitar arrangement and soft drum grooves and it is underpinned by Bent’s playful melodic performance and heartfelt lyrics that delve into the internal struggles that continue to plague him as he tries to find a semblance of normalcy. He uses a similar songwriting approach on “You’re Not Around”, comprising off-key singing and insightful lyrics about personal loss and coming to terms with changes.
The project closes out with “All My Faults” and “Globe”. The former is a reflective and somewhat self-deprecating tune about self-doubt, bad decisions and ultimately being accountable and taking steps to rectify the situation. The latter “Globe” serves as a return to the start for Bent as he runs through all these experiences and emotions from the previous tracks and reevaluates them with a positive attitude. Bent sounds hopeful and acknowledges that the journey never ends.
Overall At My Wits’ End is a rollercoaster of emotions of a young man who is finding his footing. He has a way of painting his stories eloquently and while his approach is rough and unpolished at times, it does get the job done. The production here is serviceable and not quite mindblowing but then that is just about personal taste.
The Author
