Joshua Josué’s debut full-length Beneath the Sand feels like the culmination of years spent chasing the horizon on a motorcycle through Mexico and Central America, across lonely highways in the American West, and deep into the craft of songwriting. The record’s bilingual storytelling and cross-border rhythms reflect a life lived at cultural intersections. It’s where Americana grit meets Chicano soul.
What makes Beneath the Sand stand out is the way its personal history is carried by a band of legends. With members of Los Lobos, Dwight Yoakam’s band, The Old 97’s, and Los Super Seven in the mix, the album gains the rhythmic drive, instrumental color, and lived-in feel that only seasoned players can deliver. The title track, co-written with Roly Salley and Ben Rice, anchors the record with stark beauty. Its sparse arrangement mirroring the solitude Joshua describes from his year of wandering after loss.
Across the tracklist, each song captures a specific moment from Joshua’s travels. “Bogart & Me” turns a desert-bound recording trip into a warm tribute to a trusted companion, while “La Chica Me Cantó” bridges languages and traditions in a love story that could only come from his unique background. Recorded at a solar-powered studio in the Mojave Desert, the sessions embraced their surroundings of roadrunners outside, coffee in hand, and nights spent writing by the outdoor stove.
The album’s bilingual lyrics aren’t a stylistic choice so much as a reflection of identity. Joshua’s “Pocho Spanish,” as he calls it, is part of the record’s authenticity, carrying the weight of his Southern California upbringing and years in Mexico. The result is a body of work that draws from both John Prine and Vicente Fernández, John Townes Van Zandt and Enrique Bunbury, without feeling like a compromise.
Beneath the Sand is not just a debut but a road map of grief, movement, and renewal, traced across deserts, borders, and memories.
