Joe Hedges

Detail:

Former July For Kings frontman Joe Hedges' solo debut, Curvature, is a cross between Sting's atmospheric Jazz/Rock, The Samples' Folk/Jam/Pop vibe and Radiohead's sonic texturalism. While the sound is a departure from July For Kings' guitar-centered AltRock, the quality that remains is Hedges' spiritual and introspective songwriting sensibilities. Although JFK multi-instrumentalist T Miller and drummer Dan McQuinn remained on hand, everyone felt it would be best for this set of material to come out under Hedges' name alone.

For Hedges, the prime directive for Curvature was to produce his left-field material as unconventionally as possible. Using Blumpy's shipped-in recording rig and his Michigan cabin as a makeshift studio was the first step. Throwing out existing recording guidelines was next.

"We did the album kind of backwards. We started with vocals and guitars and then we built up the other elements around it and did drums last," says Hedges. "We really wanted the album to be about the melodies and the songs. We knew we were going to ... experiment with different synth sounds and electronic elements but we didn't want it to take over. Starting with the vocals was a good way to do that."

Curvature has gained some great notices since its April release and Hedges is busy doing area solo dates to support it. He notes that July For Kings is not necessarily defunct, as talks are in progress to possibly resurrect the band to present the songs that Hedges has written in the band vein.