Joey Aich is a noteworthy artist because he a walking juxtaposition of moods. His sound is decidedly pensive, smooth, and thoughtful. His demeanor is outgoing, joyful, and friendly.

Even with recent blurbs in press making note of Joey’s talent and releases, he still feels a great deal of angst from being under the radar. One need look no further than the opening track to his most recent release, Open Treehouse, which is titled “Love Note.” The hook goes: “Icon status unnoticed in the city / And it’s time for a change or you’ll lose your mind / Lose your mind.” Earlier in the song he makes note of the tension of finding his place in the industry, noting that “Soulja had ringtones,” but he’s going to push his tunes hard, knowing that he could earn proverbial breadcrumbs in comparison. As he notes in “Back Nine,” “Something gotta change.”

I agree, Joey. And this pandemic might be the catalyst that drives that change. We all need to keep pushing—I’ll definitely do so!

I will say that I’ve noticed a recent trend of jazz influenced hip hop emerging. It’s hard for me to gauge how much the mainstream has caught on, but with the current somber and thoughtful environment of 2020, especially in the US, artists like Joey Aich just might be playing directly into the hands of both what music listeners want to hear and what kind of music is in demand in TV or film. But, well. I digress. Back to comments on some moments that hit me hard from Open Treehouse!

Two of my favorite songs on the record are for sure “Push” and “Extra Sauce.” Let’s start with the latter.

There’s something whimsical and clever about how Joey Aich uses a food metaphor to communicate his own emotional truth. “I don’t need no extra sauce on my wings / I got enough on my plate / So when I escape just know that it’s me,” he muses and pointedly remarks at the same time. In this particular track, the keyboard solo following the last hook is particularly striking to me.

“Push” is ethereal and dreamy—two descriptors that if you know me, you know I love to use on this site! My two favorite things about this song, other than the wonderfully weird instrumentals, are how fittingly inspiring the chorus is “Rollin’ rollin’ we coasting high / Rollin’ rollin’ we floating high / To the sun Aye, we don’t stop Aye, To the moon Aye, We gon fly,” and also the Emperor’s New Groove reference. I might be silently judging you if you say you don’t like that film, but I digress. He muses, “Man, I’m Kuzco / Kuzma if you try to run the two.” If you know the movie’s plot, he is making a comment about his ego and lofty aspirations, in my interpretation cleverly talking about the tension between following his dreams and checking himself against unhealthily being full of himself.

Some of the most poignant lyrics end the record with the beginning of “Among the Trees”—”Packed out show with the right folks / Not a sell out, but a light show I’m a lightshow.” This cuts deep, because it’s so easy to get blinded by a numbers game as an indicator of success. But here, Joey seems to be coming to terms to what he is ultimately desiring. I think all of us really want and need the right people to come alongside us more so than winning a popularity contest.

Here’s hoping that Open Treehouse continues to reach the right people. I’m glad the album reached me.

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