If you like a little gloom with your music, you’re not alone. Josh Martin, better known as Daughn Gibson, has managed to make a brand out of it. He’s a tall, dark and handsome man with a brooding baritone that fills an aural void with sounds that make you wonder: where in that body is that sound coming from? Daughn is a versatile musician: as a drummer he cut his teeth with Nazareth, and then with the PA-based stoner-rock band Pearls and Brass who have been on hiatus since 2008. Over the past three years he’s released All Hell, and his sophomore effort Me Moan. In 2015, the Pennsylvanian singer-songwriter is due to release his third full-length record, Carnations on June 2. To hold us over, Gibson and Sub Pop have released the first single, the 80s-esque “Shatter You Through.” Have a listen.
In his short but rich career as a solo artist, Gibson has presented us with lyrically mysterious, often times sensual goth-blues and country-pop that would be most fitting on a playlist entitled “Songs by a Cemetery Cowboy Crooner.” I’ve even caught small psychedelic flourishes. The guy is a stylistic snafu. He intrigues me.
Truly, aside from physical characteristics and his musical aesthetics, I’m at a loss for words on how to describe Gibson. He’s unique. Super original. Yet so steeped in influences that obviously exist but I can’t quite put a finger on. The best I can do is suggest that he brainstormed with Lady Gaga in a room haunted with the spirits of Johnny Cash, Frank Sinatra, Ian Curtis, Michael Hutchence and Peter Steele.
But don’t take my word for it. Explore some more his fascinating catalog with these songs: