Alexander Joseph brings us a pause for thought and stillness through his soul-searching new single, “St. David (Alternate Version)” a rework of one of his first songs. The track is a personal pilgrimage set to music.
Written in 2011 while on a life-changing trip to the seaside town of St David’s on the Pembrokeshire Coast, Joseph returns to this most personal of pieces with the perspective and emotional lucidity only time can provide. The other version adds new life to the track without taking away its original heart, a difficult balance that Joseph executes flawlessly.
Inspired by a real-life pilgrimage Bent took with his sister, who also happened to capture the luscious artwork accompanying the release, the track has a bit of the hushed-rock lean the singer has always favored. That sense of family connection, coupled with the depth of introspection of the moment, seeps into every note and lyric. The effect is a soundscape that’s at once intimate and universal, tailor-made for anyone standing at a personal crossroads of their own.
“St. David (Alternate Version)” goes for Joseph’s signature acoustic sentimentality, but it’s elevated and more textured. There is a quiet confidence in his delivery, as if the years that have passed since the original gave him a better handle on the place itself and the feelings that it also conjures up.