American Folk: Justin Roth's Shine

To begin listening to Justin Roth’s Shine is to be gathered with friends around a campfire. The opening track, the title track is about camping, watching the early morning Seven Sisters constellation come out. The music wraps you in that blanket of warmth from the fire, from the love, from the joy of being together away from the cares of daily life.

After seeing Justin Roth play live, I commented that he belonged near Peter Mayer for his guitar work. My friends, David and Stephanie, found the album’s mix to have drowned out too much of the guitar work. “Savior” has a tremendous picking strum (would you say it is a flamenco flourish on the back beats?), and while it certainly is different than hearing Roth solo, I still find the guitar on the album to be full of the energy, drive, and imagination that I heard live.

“The Only Life” hearkens to the influence of David Wilcox, poetry that grabs contemporary life but still ends up painting a universal theme. Peter Mulvey rocking-rhythmic folk pulls up for a drive in “Crush.” “Pull” brings all of these influences together—Wilcox, Mulvey, and Mayer.

Roth’s accomplished guitar work comes through on two instrumentals. Midway through the album, Roth puts his imprimatur on Billy McLaughlin’s “The Weaver of Avoca.” The album closes with an original, “Bagshot Row,” which indeed would’ve worked as the soundtrack to the hobbits’ return at the end of The Lord of the Rings. Tolkien made me want to live in Middle Earth with the hobbits, and Roth only further confirms that desire for friends, good food, ale, and songs to sing.

Having asked Roth about the spiritual themes in his music (see interview above), I can’t squirm out of my own question. The song “Savior” obviously grabs my attention. While the song apparently is about putting down a dog, there could also be a hint of suicide/struggling with suicide. Either way, the savior is the one who brings an end to misery, struggle, etc. This is rich territory explore when making connections to Christ. Options to run with this metaphor: 1) Christ took on our madness of sin and died in our place, 2) Christ kills our sin to free us from death, or 3) The song is from the perspective of God, trying to explain why He had to kill His own Son. These options only intensify when you again add that energy, drive, and imagination in the guitar work.