Fueled by a passion and an intensely personal story-telling ability, SoCal native Josh Dominguez is bringing the heat, in more ways than one, with his debut album, The Current. On this six song EP, Dominguez serves up an impressive freshman effort that weaves a tale of getting swept up in the current of love, lust, regret and a healthy dose of “fuck you.
Dominguez’ intentions for The Current become crystal clear with the release of his first single, “First Encounters,” an intoxicating track written by Josh that has sex dripping from his honeyed vocals and sets the perfect tone for the lyrical package to come. From there, he takes a sharp turn from the hypnotic to the hopeful with his second single, “Looking for Me.” The acoustic song, deftly handled by Alec Berkley on the guitar, captures an almost blissful hilarity at the absurdity of society’s obsession with social media. That hopeful aura swings back to a darker, moodier feel with the third single, “2AM,” a track immortalizing a night of sex, euphoria and escape from Josh’s past. The final single, “Waiting,” gives Dominguez a platform to unleash the raw power of his vocals in both singing and rapping on track that doesn’t hold back in calling out the crazy.
These tracks, and the remainder of The Current, are driven not only by Josh’s masterful lyrical narrative ability, but also by the smooth aura he wraps himself in. From the playful anticipation on “Keeping You Up”, a track boosted by the Brazilian guitar riffs delivered by Ian “ENS” Silverman, to the breakbeats reminiscent of that lo-fi Detroit sound on “Judge,” Dominguez continually teases his listeners and leaves them wanting more.
Dominguez and The Current reach another level through a powerful partnership formed with veteran SoCal hiphop artist and producer, Ariano, who wrote (“Looking for Me” and “Waiting”), co-wrote with Josh (“2AM”, “All Night”), and produced every track on the EP. Ariano brings not only his prominence as a writer and producer to the project, but also his connections forged over 20 years in the SoCal scene. Ariano’s musical partner, LDontheCut (DJ for Sublime with Rome) mixed and mastered every track on this electric EP and opened the doors for five of the six tracks to be recorded in Hollywood at Fresh Goods Music studio. Only “Waiting” broke the mold with a recording in Austin, Texas.
The partnerships, passion and intense honesty fuel Dominguez and The Current to deliver a stellar EP that is as frenzied as it is enticing. Each track takes the listener on journey through emotions and desires laid bare, wrapped neatly between a darkened beach and crashing waves of the intro and outro. It’s an intimate look into the inner mind of Dominguez.