Subtitled “A musical journey through neurodiversity set against the backdrop of COVID-19”, Joshua Batten’s 'Learn To Live Again' is a continuous narrative in four parts: Distress, Depression, Assessment and Acceptance.
Regal strings usher in opening track ‘Prologue – Ignorance & Whispers’, which details the distant murmurings of a mystery virus. And we all know how quickly that “tale from the news” escalated!
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Throughout Learn To Live Again, Batten draws from a sonic palette of swelling strings, stately keys, guitar histrionics, dynamic drum patterns and even thunderstorm sound effects. At times his timbre calls to mind Tim Freedman (see: ‘Everybody’s Story’).
A nostalgic keys motif evokes the sublime ‘Isn’t It Time’ by The Babys before ‘Oh, Britannia’ morphs into a jaunty, musical theatre-esque romp: “Round about tea time, step off the train/ Victoria Station, out into the rain…” Clocking in at just under 14 minutes – a mini-musical! – ‘Existential Guardian’ features syncopated drum beats, dramatic keys and introspective lyrics: “What have I become?/ Sitting in a glass house throwing stones at everyone/ I’ve been cynical/ Waiting on a miracle to reconstruct a mind beyond repair.”
Slowly building to a triumphant crescendo, closer ‘The End Is Not The End’ is Batten’s resilience anthem: “Adjusting expectations on the way/ As I learn to navigate/ This gift that I’ve been given…” – hope ultimately prevails.
Joshua Batten: “I’ve reached a point where mental health needs to be discussed in the mainstream”
Label: Independent/MGM
Release date: 3 October
Batten launches Learn To Live Again as part of Melbourne Fringe Festival 13 – 16 October, MC Showroom.
