Joshua Radin

Meiko
Jesse Harris

The times in which we live are confusing, chaotic and complex--anything but simple. Aren't they?

Maybe. But the things that have always been important in life are still important, and those are the subjects Joshua Radin addresses on his second album, Simple Times . These songs, he says, are about "falling in and out of love. Making friendships, having friendships fall apart. Experiencing different parts of the world, seeing other cultures and getting a better perspective on how we live in our country. Everything that people generally go through."

The means he employs to deliver those ideas to the world is also pretty simple: He picks up a guitar and sings his heart out.

The completed Simple Times offers the next step in the evolution of an artist whose talent is flourishing, whose skills have grown and whose vision is broader than ever before. It's also proof that a young man who was confronted with success very early in his musical life--as he puts it, "before I really found my stage legs"--has grown into his role with aplomb.

"I feel like right about now I'm starting to hit my stride, which is cool," he says. "With this record I feel like I can come out and say, 'OK, I'm a fully formed artist now.' I just hope that other people like it as much as I like it."