If you love soothing melodies, sincere lyrics, and angelic voices, you’re sure to enjoy “Something More” by Joshua Hyslop, Canadian singer-songwriter. “Something More” is Hyslop’s latest single that will be a part of his upcoming EP album Embers, scheduled for release on February 7, 2020.
Hyslop doesn’t start singing in “Something More” until a whole minute and thirty three seconds of indie-folk sound. But not a second of those 93 seconds feels wasteful or unintentional. The sound is intriguing, dynamic, and builds you up so you’re ready for his voice when he decides to sing.
And when he starts singing, you’re really glad he decided to.
His voice is controlled, euphonious, and a delight to listen to. He also avoids one of my pet peeves in lyrically driven music: He sings with articulation and clarity! I get a sense of the meaning behind the song during the first listen.
There is honesty and depth in the lyrics of “Something More” that resonates with me. Hyslop is asking hard questions about belief, hope, and doubt. There is yearning in his lyrics and there is fear.
“Something More” is about his experience growing up in a religious home. The religious themes of searching, being beloved, hope, doubt, and even fire immediately intrigued me because I grew up in a religious home, too.
Hyslop sings in the first verse:
I am my beloved’s, beloved, are you mine?
Oh, if you asked it of me, I’d tear this down and leave it all behind
I have searched for ages, down every single road
And though the path I follow has lead this far
I fear it’s growing cold
The word “beloved” that Hyslop uses inspires thoughts of being dearly loved in a perfect and complete way. It feels connected to a higher love that is above human love. The lyrics display to me searching for what feels out of reach to Hyslop – a desire for that perfect love that he isn’t sure exists.
The third verse displays the idea of a relational love that he’s looking for:
Who is this that gathers around me like the sun?
If everyone who knows you is counted blessed
Will I be counted one?
Who is this that shimmers brighter than the moon?
How could I have looked for it all my life and still have not found truth?
His lyrics are dripping with deep questions he longs to have answered. It seems like he’s asking these questions to a higher power that he wonders if he can truly know and have a relationship with. I love these lyrics because of their authenticity and for the truth they communicate in spite of his doubts and questions. The truth that I hear from these lyrics is that Hyslop is not alone. Everyone is searching; everyone has doubts; everyone wants something more.
Some people are just more awake to that desire than others.
At the beginning of the last verse, Hyslop sings:
Should I bite my tongue?
Simply hope that only hope’s enough?
Or look for the light
When it’s easier to close my eyes?
I think these lyrics are my favorite in the song because they communicate the truth that searching is hard work. Looking for the light in the midst of darkness is hard. I believe that people numb and deaden desire all the time in order to cope with things that they cannot understand or that are painful.
I’m hopeful for Hyslop that he’s doing the hard work of searching. I hope that we all look for the light, and don’t settle for what’s easy. Because there is something more; the search is worth it.
