Joe Hodgson – The Grass Is Greener / Shapeshifting (2025)
Truthfully, my personal playlist doesn’t include much instrumental music – it’s more of a mishmash of lyrical songs from various artists in various languages. This being said, there are times when an instrumental melody is the most soul-stirring, harmonic and much-needed tune to end the day. Existing in the part of the brain where language dissolves and music reigns, the best of Kenny G, Sadao Watanabe, and even Beethoven can be found. With sophisticated elegance and flourishing flair, guitarist Joe Hodgson finds his way into that part of my brain.
After many years performing with London-based bands and extensive touring through Europe, Irish musician Joe Hodgson took to a solo project with a unique, eclectic blend of jazz, rock, blues and traditional Irish tones. Multi-faceted with different sides to his personality, Hodgson released his debut album, Apparitions, to international acclaim… and then, nothing. Well, not really nothing, rather a brief break from the music scene, spending four years travelling, writing and recording. Today, we take a gander at his first release since 2020 – the double-sided single, ‘The Grass Is Greener / Shapeshifting’.
Taken from his upcoming sophomore album, Fields of Redemption, Hodgson saunters through a plethora of musical styles in his new material. Opening with the rock-inspired sounds of ‘The Grass Is Greener’, he immediately drags listeners back to the 1970s iconic classic rock sounds. A hard-hitting rollercoaster flushed with soaring guitars, glittering keys and a shimmer of drums peeping from the back, ‘The Grass Is Greener’ brims with the highest highs and lowest lows, all packed in a soothing guitar-driven few minutes of sound.
After offering a masterclass in old-school classic rock, Hodgson surges with an eclectic concoction of psychedelic rock, indie-pop, and some flips of rock ‘n’ roll bringing up the rear. ‘The Grass Is Greener’ certainly offers a rollercoaster of music; however, ‘Shapeshifting’ is a trip from beginning to end with kaleidoscopic flashes bursting from all sides and then caressing you in its emotional eccentricity. In other words, ‘The Grass Is Greener’ introduces Hodgson’s mastery, but it is ‘Shapeshifting’ that takes you to another musical dimension with full-bodied passion.
“’The Grass Is Greener’ is the story of the twists and turns we all experience in the search for inner peace and happiness, while ‘Shapeshifting’ explores the chameleon that is in all of us.” – Joe Hodgson on ‘The Grass Is Greener/Shapeshifting’
Find out more about Joe Hodgson on his official website, Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), Instagram and Spotify.
This artist was discovered via Musosoup #sustainablecurator
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