Nashville Songwriter: Joseph Hunter Duncan
On his new release EP III, Nashville, TN songwriter Joseph Hunter Duncan crafts swirling, dreamy, shoegaze-tinged pop-folk. Charting the artists journey to sobriety, the vulnerable, yearning vocals glow with an internal warmth. At turns intimate and grandiose, the music is lifted by the sweet harmonies of Duncan\u2019s fluttering falsetto. A soft-edged and gentle record, EP III is\nthe work of a songwriter coming fully into his creative maturity.\n\nFrom the basement of his parent\u2019s house to dingy dives across America, Joseph \u201cHunter\u201d Duncan captures raw emotion and distills it into well-crafted songwriting. He has spent the better part of a decade touring and releasing albums under various monikers (The Lion In Winter, Yosef), nurturing and focusing his storytelling. Now releasing music under his own name, EP III follows 2019\u2019s EP I and the 2020 release EP II. While all of the releases in this series were tracked with Tommy Carnes in Nashville at his home\nstudio, EP III is the first that was performed entirely by Duncan. \u201cThese songs mostly came along during late summer of 2020\u201d says Duncan. \u201cI was working through massive lifestyle\nchanges, reflecting on behaviors, relationships, and my overall perspective on the things that\nwere and are important to me. I was getting my life in order and mending a broken relationship. I had a rough go with alcohol abuse that affected my family, my work, and just about every\naspect of my life.\u201d\n\nDiagnosed with Bi-polar 2 disorder in early 2017, EP III reflects that dichotomy in its production. The first half of the record is a touch loud and brash, while the second half is relaxed and\nstripped down. \u201cI wanted to capture some of the frustration that comes along with having this condition\u201d explains Duncan. \u201cThe line in \u201cRabbit Hole\u201d that goes \u201cI can\u2019t, I won\u2019t\u201d is really the focus of telling myself to stay on track and don\u2019t let the past take you back into the spiral of chaos.\u201d \n\nWhat Duncan has crafted with EP III is a record that eloquently captures the essence of heartbreak, and the realization that ultimately, it\u2019s okay to care about yourself. \u201cThe record is a\nplea to my past self not to go back to my old ways, habits, and behaviors\u201d says Duncan. \u201cTo remind myself that I can stay on track, with my family, my loved ones and myself. My hope for\nanyone who listens is that they find a little comfort knowing that you\u2019re not alone in those hardships. We are all a little screwed up. Songwriting \u2013 and music itself - helps get through it.\u201d