New Music Critique: Joseph Eid

NY native Joseph Eid is an engaging storyteller (a la Jason Mraz) with a keen eye for character, which he proves on “Watch It Fall,” about a crumbling apartment building inhabited by neighbors on the downswing. Its twangy pedal-steel guitar complements Eid’s amiable tenor, which somehow manages to make a downbeat subject seem light and picaresque. That, in fact, is Eid’s gift––an ability to thread a silver lining into the dark cloud of his subject matter. Case in point: “Diary,” where Eid’s buoyant bongo fueled arrangement provides a tropical flair to a song about an unfortunate peek at something very private. All in all, Eid has an engaging persona. We only wish his material had stronger, more memorable hooks.