Josh Hodges is Sexton Blake. Actually, he is a self-taught indie musician, born and raised in Portland, Ore. He is a humble guy with a prolific songwriting habit. Not since Elliot Smith has Portland given rise to such a talented indie balladeer. And for Hodges, melody is just as important as lyrics, both of which blend effortlessly into his signature songs. Josh began his music career early, giving imaginary piano concerts in his home as a child. He started a psychedelic punk band while attending an alternative arts high school in Portland, and he has been playing music and writing songs at the rate of at least one song a week ever since. Josh has been fine-tuning his craft in recent years by playing with bands up and down the East and West coasts, finding temporal home bases in Portland and Brooklyn, N.Y. He creates his modest rock single-handedly at home, using a computer donated by friends to build each song track-by-track - but his audience no longer is imaginary. Only an artist with a huge catalogue of material could debut with such an exquisite and interesting selection of songs. Each song is simply terrific, and taken as a whole this debut album should not be missed. Fans of Elliot Smith, Pinback and Beck will love this album. Indeed, any fan of simple, beautiful music will love this album. Whether singing an ode to a lost friend on "Abe," humorously waxing for unrequited love on "want to die," or paying tribute to 80's dance music on "better off dead," Hodges never ceases to entertain. The songs are eclectic, yet the album remains cohesive. He manages to keep listeners comfortably satisfied, while surprising them at each turn. Soft spoken and prone to understatement, Hodges describes his own music as "palatable." But after one listen to Sexton Blake, you'll realize it's so much more. For more info contact: Anthony Davis Expunged Records (503) 806-2818