David M Rangel / January 5, 2026 / Review
Joshua David Thayer is man of variety. Musically, he wears many hats. As someone who has been primarily a bass player in different bands over his thirty plus years as a performer, Thayer has recently expanded his musical palettte. His finesse on multiple guitars (electric, acoustic, lap steel, resonator, et al), bass, vocals, keyboards, ukulele and other instruments, doesn’t reveal a man who is “finding himself” outside of his main instrument. He’s someone who sounds as if he was “found”, long ago.
Starting with his first full length record in 2024 (It Will Still Keep Feeling Rough) Thayer began a solo career in which he has taken the reins and appears to have mastered a diverse array of instruments and the ability to create unexpected, inventive soundscapes. To label his music as alternative or indie folk would be convenient, but lazy. While a folk style makes up the basic foundation of some of his tracks (perhaps more so in the aforementioned solo debut), Thayer truly shines sonically in crafting ambient sounds, both obvious and subtle, to achieve a rich mixture of spacey songs in his current release, So Little, Close to Nothing. The record gives off a vibe that would rival contemporaries such as My Morning Jacket.
The album opens with a strong, potential movie soundtrack tune called “We Won’t Relent”. The song rolls along, giving off an air of early 2000s indie energy, sounding like an American version of Franz Ferdinand. The tune definitely screams “single“ and is a good primer for the more relaxed, ethereal sounds that will come as the record proceeds.
“Pulled and Pushed” makes an unexpected, dark, slightly sinister sound that incorporates delicate “chimey” sounding synthesizers with the occasional pop-up of a buzz-saw-like guitar riff. As this mixture slinks along, it could be easy for a listener to picture Robert De Niro‘s Travis Bickle character rolling through a dark, seedy, creep-infested New York City Street, as was the case in the film, Taxi Driver.
For someone who for many years, mostly held down the low end down on the bass, Thayer has become quite creative in achieving multiple styles of music, in one record. “Get Down” is a tune with yet another style in his variety of aural flavors. It gives off a hypnotic, south of the border, 1960s-style flare. It’s made interesting with the addition of a violin and an emo sounding snare drum, leading the way. The track, along with the one that follows, “Pay”, have the kind of unique quirkiness that makes one think of the early days of alternative music on college radio. That is to say, the days before those kinds of songs hit the mainstream FM dial.
Much of this record deals with the details and challenges that come with merely existing as a human. Thayer’s lyrical and storytelling abilities have been mentioned in the same sentence as raconteurs like Jeff Tweedy of Wilco, and this is fair. “The Cave”, the record’s most folky and (arguably) tuneful track, paints an intriguing picture of characters and scenarios. The word choices work well together and make you think, even if it’s not completely clear as to what their meaning may be. Creating lyrics that can be esoteric and sometimes, non-linear, is not always easy to do. Thayer shows it to be one of his strengths throughout the album.
Joshua David Thayer has created a strong, eclectic group of indie-minded tunes here. When one listens to his debut record, it is apparent that he is becoming more comfortable with expanding his repertoire when it comes to taking chances and experimentation. Whether we are talking about tunes for a smaller, more obscure audience, or ones that could be commercially placed in movies, etc for large masses, he is proving himself to be a solid contender in the current musical landscape. It will be interesting to see where his Massachusetts-based wind takes him with future records.
Get the album on Bandcamp, or listen to it on Apple Music.
The Indy Review 