“Holding a guitar, it’s my comfort blanket,” says Joshua Hyslop, the Vancouver-based folk-pop artist. Over the past two years, he’s grappled with bouts of anxiety and depression triggered by the convergence of first-time parenthood, the deaths of two friends, and of course a never-ending pandemic. All these emotional tributaries led him back to one constant: the need to make music. The result is Westward, his fifth album (Nettwerk Records, out April 22, 2022), which works through all of the above. And in the end, we all benefit from Hyslop’s liberating catharsis.

Joshua has developed an unwavering and direct connection to listeners via hundreds of “House Shows” (cozy gigs at the homes of fans) in addition to high-profile tours across North America and Europe. At the same time, he’s remained prolific with multiple EP’s, a Christmas album and five full-length albums — Where The Mountain Meets the Valley (2012), In Deepest Blue (2015), Echos (2018), Ash & Stone (2020) and Westward (2022)— and gathered over 300 MILLION online streams worldwide. Along the way, he’s garnered acclaim from the likes of American Songwriter, Earmilk, NPR, Exclaim!, and many more.