Search - Denison Witmer :: Of Joy & Sorrow

Here is Of Joy & Sorrow, the new album from Philadelphia PA singer / songwriter Denison Witmer. Following up The '80s EP, released earlier this year, Witmer's second full-length finds him continuing in a time-honored tradition delivering strong, introspective confessionals without a hint of cynicism or pretension. While Witmer's music is rooted in the folk tradition, and while fans have been drawn to his strong vocal style and impeccable taste for simple guitar work, Of Joy & Sorrow demonstrates that Witmer's ear bends far beyond genre lines. Here are ten honest songs with all the makings of great pop tunes, without loosing an ounce of the conviction that has always been Witmer's greatest hook. Album openers "Forgiven" and "Stations" set the tone for the entire record with a solid rhythmic backbone of bass, drums and organ carrying Witmer's soothing guitar and intimate vocals to match. Sprinkled into the collection are stripped down guitar-and-vocal only songs like "Rise and Fall" and "Reaching" which work to keep the focus throughout on what Of Joy & Sorrow is built upon: Beautiful songs, simple and convincing arrangements with a heart-felt, honest lyrical delivery. Of Joy and Sorrow was recorded during various trips to Seattle WA with a bit of work from home in Pennsylvania. Witmer paired up with Blake Wescott (Sarah Shannon, The Vogue, Saltine, etc), Jordan Walton (Damien Jurado) and Don Peris (The Innocence Mission) as engineers with help on instrumentation and backing vocals from Don, Blake, Karen Peris (The Innocence Mission), Benjamin Brubaker (ex-Pedro the Lion), and Daniel French (Ran Away to Sea). The results come together and make Witmer's new record stand out as his best to date. Of Joy & Sorrow is an enhanced CD-ROM featuring bonus interactive content with photos, lyrics and two live videos including a cover version of Men at Work's "I Can See it in Your Eyes"