SWEET PSYCHEDELIA & LIVEWIRE GROOVE

Seemingly capping a three-album pattern of warm 60s-70s/analog-inspired and earworm-infested tune clusters, Make ‘em Smile (2026) brings a fun but also deeply-evocative collection of new songs. MeS is a brother from another mother when its likeness is compared with 2023’s House with the White Tree.

The title track, featuring a gorgeous horn arrangement bringing to mind late 60s Kinks or Supertramp’s use of Dixieland/dancehall/klezmer colors (played by Nick Ellman and Chris Bill), is a tribute to the great immigrant stars of America’s early twentieth-century pop culture. Inspiration continues from Eglash’s own family Holocaust survivor background in tunes like “Names on Fire” and others. Each Eglash album includes a candy-coated power-pop lollipop like “Lighten the Load,” this written with his daughter Arielle. Queen- and Jellyfish-like hooks abound, with maybe a taste of Rush…

Constantly seeking new ideas and inspiration, for MeS Eglash worked with brilliant writer and close friend Amy Spitzer to produce two intriguing collaborations: “Breathe Long” and “Dash.” The former’s epic string arrangement (played by Roni Seiler) lays in beautiful contrast to the simplicity of the latter, a mysterious and dreamy album-ender.

Tziyonut, a song trilogy making up the heart of the album, is Eglash’s deep-heart reaction to what many Jews consider the worst tragedy of their Jewish lifetimes: October 7. “Only Hills to Climb” and its gorgeous fingerpicking beg the spirits to “…sing my soul to sleep”, while invoking the feeling of a gut punch followed by spiritual test. That leads into the Psalm 137-inspired “By the River,” a spare groove-based portrait of what it has been and is like as a diasporic Jew yearning to return to Israel. The third part, “Story of Adam,” rocks hard in the manner of Faces or the Stones (and features Chris Barber on drums and Chris Bill on trumpet).

Things lighten up a bit with Eglash’s White Album hard-rocking ode to his favorite baseball team, the Milwaukee Brewers, with “The Crew” (featuring Lee Zodrow on piano). “Misfit” (also featuring Zodrow) and “Lie Down” are built on psychedelic folk-based song skeletons decorated with mega-catchy hooks and melodies while “Wolf and Sheep,” a new sonic direction, yields bud-fog to U2 or Mumford-y stadium folk. All in all, yes—oy—these will make you smile.

ten songs

For Eglash, following what he considered to be his best work in any genre, 2021’s Twilight / Glide, was a difficult concept.

“Writing and recording Twilight / Glide was a cathartic and often tough experience—like exposing a cut to the air. In the end, I was more proud of it than anything I’d ever done in my creative life. After its release, it took me a long time to come around to the idea of what a follow-up could be. Ultimately, I just moved forward telling myself that I should just write and record what comes naturally. I sat down and wrote simple songs, ones that I felt folks could relate to at first listen, then find deeper layers upon further examination.

“That ended up being Eagles-y pop tunes with an alt-country feel… part of it was outfitting my lap steel with pedal steel benders. I wanted to take that thing for a ride and it affected my writing. It affected the sound of the album in a way I’ve always, always wanted. Some of my favorite, most serene moments in music feature pedal steel and prominent acoustic guitar from bands like Phish, Steve Miller, Black Crowes, the Dead, CSN, Neil Young, and Dylan.”

After some time trying to find a musical direction for the album, he wrote “Troubadour.”

“‘Troubadour’ was a breakthrough moment because it essentially gave me permission just to write songs, and not necessarily from my own point of view. Many of the songs were products of empathy, dreams, or observations, and much of it—musically and lyrically—is the product of maturation. I was able to sit back and hold back, to restrain myself. It paid off in songs like ‘Stand Me Up’ and ‘Five Starry Nights.’

“‘Not Dead Yet’ and ‘Whatever Resistance You May Feel’ were also key for me. They are huge productions with some outside players on strings and piano. Throughout, I aggressively went for very high production value and analog thickness.”

Of all the songs on the album, the title track is his favorite: “If I die tomorrow, I know I’ve left behind a mark with that song. All of my passion and emotion lives in it.” Lee Zodrow guested on piano on this track including the gorgeous Elton John-meets-Jayhawks coda, and Gary Mackender played Zydeco accordion on “Stand Me Up.” Roni Seiler played Joe’s written-out string arrangements, Kirby Hammell played piano on “Not Dead Yet,” and MusicDecco played Wurlitzer on “Right on Time.”

MUSIC OF sleeplessness & WAKING DREAMS

TWILIGHT / GLIDE, an album which captures the feeling and dream-state of being awake when you should be sleeping, represents a major leap forward in Eglash’s music-making, in every way: song universality, relatability, production, arrangement.

From the liner notes: “Twilight / Glide is about our perception of the night as mysterious. Nighttime reveals sides of us not contemplated during daylight hours… whatever your demons are, their ugly heads are reared at that time of day when you are forced into a reckoning with yourself.

“I tried hard to make the themes on this album relatable and universal, both lyrically and musically. Whatever catharsis you hear and feel in this music is the result of my own battle with insomnia and its domino/snowball/ripple effect, but I do believe that the music speaks openly to all. Inspiration is fertile and wild at night. So is your lizard brain. All we can do is pursue happiness.”

A feeling of warmth and familiarity covers the music of TWILIGHT / GLIDE, including swaths of strings, arranged by Joe Eglash, and other guest musicians on brass and banjo. The songs, recorded in analog snuggliness and layered in blankets of sound, are vulnerable, catchy, and textured with classic rock, pop, and ethnic sounds. Some might relate it to the Beach Boys’ Smile or Jellyfish’s Spilt Milk, in that each track on the album belongs with the other and they all feel like one work.

The thread concept on TWILIGHT / GLIDE of time stretching and contracting, of hours as minutes and minutes like hours, add to music ranging in feel from rock to country rock to pop. It feels immediately timeless, offering fans new treats with each listen.