Good Music: The Joe - Float or Flail

I first met Joe Gurba - aka The Joe - around 6 years ago as a fresh-faced kid with a streak of geek and a love of hip-hop music. Back then he was pushing his rough, but engaging debut album and performing for church youth groups. Since that time, Joe has transformed himself into a sharp slinger of intricate, and sometimes surreal wordplay, an indie music warrior, and a tireless champion of fellow artists. To get there Joe went subversive, working the indie rock scene from the bottom up. He played every show he could find with whatever bands would share the stage. He began promoting shows as Robot Human and joined with friends to found the Old Ugly Recording Co. whose roster includes rising local indie acts like Mitchmatic, Doug Hoyer, and Kumon Plaza.

Between 2006 and 2008, Joe wrote and recorded Float or Flail, a slick collection of electro-beats, crisp bleeps and bloops, and creamy synth washes that perfectly match his seemingly endless poetic energy. Sadly, the album was shelved until Joe could raise the necessary funds to free the master recordings. Three years later he's succeeded and his labour of love is finally seeing the light of day. Joe has expressed some mild embarrassment about releasing the album so late as he feels that he's grown beyond it as an artist and a person, but there's nothing to be ashamed of here. From rapid-fire fun jams like "Spaceman", "What Not", or "On My Right Shoulder", to the contemplative spoken-word flow of "Sorry If It Singed You", Joe's lyrical prowess is indisputable. He displays a complete mastery of vocabulary which he pours into a frenetic torrent of truly unique metaphor, simile, and pop-reference. Equal parts party and genuine poetry, Float or Flail is entertainment that both feeds your mind and bobs your head and Joe has made it's 15 tracks available to the world for a mere $7.50. I heartily encourage you to check it out.