Cottonwood Firing Squad aka Bill Rodriguez, is primarily known to the indie scene as the producer of the hit song “Postmodern Fade”, which encapsulates the character of his entire discography: music for and about struggles, depression, and the introspective. His new album, I Think There’s Something Wrong With Joshy, feels just as raw and reflective. The EP has a total of 5 new songs to Cottonwood’s arsenal. Which honestly are some of my favorite produced pieces by this artist.

The EP opens with a song entitled “New Drugs” which has low energy (yet dark) lyrics accompanied by an upbeat melody which feel almost dream-like and euphoric. The two juxtaposed one another so well, giving a dark and hopeless yet thoughtful and reflective tone to open the album. Next in the queue is “DEATHWISH”, which opens with the unforgettable line “Give me the gun and I’ll show you how it tastes on my tongue.” Which gives the listener just the gut-wrenching punch necessary to prepare for Rodriguez’ songwriting. Next up is “Apocalypse Girl”. This song is truly something special. It consists of a total of 4 entire lines, “I promise everything will be okay, Everything will be okay.” repeated twice throughout the song sitting between a remarkable instrumental composed heavily of guitar.

Following is the titular “I Think There’s Something Wrong With Joshy”. As one might guess from the title, this song is quite heavy. It hurts in the best way possible. They say to make good art, make it personal, and boy does this master that concept. There are no other words I have for this song other than beautiful. The song follows an unnamed narrator who finds Joshy, who is crying and asks “Didn’t everything get better when you found God?”. The song then divulges into explaining and expanding upon Joshy’s depression. By the end of the song, we find Joshy wishing for an angel to come and visit and show him as Joshy puts it “a vision of the man that I thought I'd be when I pictured growing up, He'll offer me patience, I'll drink from his paper cup, And all of his spaceships have promised to pick me up”. A profound conclusion to a heartfelt song. The EP completes with “from here”. Which embodies the rest of the release flawlessly. An upbeat instrumental advised by Rodriguez’ earnest, profound, and poetic writing.

This EP is a rare 10/10 in my mind. Cottonwood Firing Squad is fatally underrated. I recommend giving this EP a play if you are ready to go on an emotional rollercoaster bound to tackle the listeners core.