Josh T. Pearson formed the short-lived phenomenon that was Lift to Experience in Texas, and their sprawling masterpiece, The Texas-Jerusalem Crossroads (2001), was released to massive acclaim – Lift to Experience were so beloved by John Peel that he had them record three sessions in five months and were included in the Best 125 Peel Sessions of all time – but soon after its release, the band split up.

Josh T. Pearson spent many years in the wilderness before returning in 2011 with a long awaited, solo debut album, Last of the Country Gentleman, which was crowned Rough Trade’s Album of the Year and described by Uncut as “A stone cold masterpiece”, before returning in 2018 with The Straight Hits! Unlike previous releases which had intense gestation periods, his second album was written and recorded in three days with the intention to spread joy and free himself from the mythology that had built around Lift To Experience’s implosion, his subsequent years travelling throughout Europe and beyond, and the release of his debut album.