Save your Sunkist, Joe Purdy Has the Beach Blues.

Every now and then a voice will just grab you. I remember it with Tracy Chapman and “Fast Car,” and Joe Purdy is the same way. At risk of ruining it I must mention the first time I heard the man was on Grey’s Anatomy. Purdy’s vocal jumped off the screen. His sound is in the genre of Chapman, Ben Harper, Amos Lee, and Jack Johnson. Purdy delivers Otis Redding dock music right sized for the iPod world.

But unlike Jack Johnson’s sun soaked good vibrations, Purdy’s brand of water music is moodier. “Skinny Dippin’ girl” sounds like swimming at night. Whereas Johnson uses the water to catch a wave, Purdy seems to use it to wash himself off.

Purdy’s voice evokes heaviness, a sadness. For some this will be a welcome thing like watching a sad movie, as they’ll enjoy cutting to the core with Purdy. For others it will grow tiring especially as most of the songs tend to sound similar when dominated by such a distinct vocal.

Julie Blue is a record from 2006 and according to the liner notes was recorded raw in one week at a lake home. The album is filled with frayed edges in the form of audible breaths; fret slides, and waves crashing against the shore.

At his best Purdy snaps off a song like “Far Away Blues.” The sand is still in your toes, but it’s a heavy track. There is a simple brilliance here. The lyrics are spare and the song lasts just over two minutes, but it’s really a wonderful little long distance love song. A surf sonnet of sorts.

On “Whiskey & Fish” Purdy takes things up a notch rocking his guitar hard and bringing a smile to his beach blues. The pace is fantastic and the arch top guitar and mandolin create a tapestry of sound with as much life as a cabin full of people.

In some ways Julie Blue reminds me a lot of the Into the Wild Soundtrack. It’s music inspired by something. In this case it’s a singer’s trip to Board Island in upstate New York. In Vedder’s case it was Sean Penn’s film. It’s difficult to judge either as an album when they’re really closer to works of art. In Purdy’s case I feel like I’ve found his journal. I feel like I should be walking around a museum looking at black and white photos when I listen to Julie Blue. There is a story here and it’s a heavy one. Joe Purdy wants to tell us something. I’m not sure he gets it all out here, but it sure if fun listening to him try.

For those that haven’t heard it, “I Love the Rain the Most” is far and away the standout track on the record. Purdy delivers simple magic with lyrics like “I like the rain the most when it stops.” As we listen to him plead, “no more rain today” Purdy has an almost Marley-like ability to create timeless music around simple structures. In the case of “I Love the Rain the Most” he tells the story of summer coming to an end with a white cap vocal alongside some sun shower guitar picking.

That’s the blessing and the curse of Joe Purdy. His music is intoxicating, but like any good depressant carries with it a sadness. Julie Blue is the sort of soundtrack you’d put on an iMovie slideshow of your kids because it would sound great and has the melancholy of growing up.

I was already familiar with “Wash Away,” “Far Away Blues,” and “ I Love the Rain the Most” prior to picking up the CD. Beyond those TV drama tracks I can’t say I discovered much else here. Of the new bits my favorites would be “Whisky & Fish,” “Skinny Dippin Girl” and “Abbie’s Song.” The bar hall bustle of “Whisky and Fish” with lyrics like “They fed me fish and whisky and I went to sleep again” would rank best of the rest.