“where we’ve always been” album

Known for simultaneously playing the keys and drums in the band We Three, Joshua Paul Humlie released his solo album titled “where we’ve always been” on April 18th, 2025.

I just finished listening to it. Literally the moment before I started typing this, and it’s now on repeat. I’m going to walk you through the album, and I highly recommend you play where we’ve always been as you read this.

1. Cobblestone & Snow

I love the nuances in songs, and this one started with what sounds like Joshua taking his seat on a well-worn, slightly squeaky piano bench. He takes a deep breath before his performance. It’s as if you’re sitting in an intimate concert hall where he’s playing the album for you and directly to you.

There’s a waltz lilt to the piano that holds you in your seat. With artfully expressed crescendos and decrescendos, you imagine the snow falling at different paces.

2. The Prelude

The sounds of static are layered onto The Prelude, making me feel like I’m going back in time and playing a classic sound system or vinyl. At 1:02, you’re intertwined in this built up soundscape which shrinks back into itself by 1:22. Soon, the strings come in to pull at your heart. Close your eyes, and you may recall a childhood memory that seems a bit distant. For a moment, I felt like I had one within reach.

3. all i see

From the first note, I felt a sense of longing, seeking, and searching. All I saw (get it?), or rather heard, was detachment. There were mismatched feelings creating tension and friction. By 0:55-0:56, there was a slight yet noticeable brightness. Then at 1:22, there was a full resolution.

4. i found you

What a perfect transition from the third song on the album. The lighthearted, balanced sounds found in the resolution of track three carried into this one. Listen to the title lyric at 0:17-0:19. Its gentleness is comforting. This song holds a brightness which twinkles in a give-and-take style, an on-and-off instrumental play. There’s this beautiful build up which feels transformative. Personally, I’d say that i found you would make a lovely movie soundtrack illuminating a character’s arc.

5. LIGHT

Just as the sun may fade in and out with the clouds, the beginning instrumentals expressed that with its flutters. The darker tones resembled background shadows, almost as if battling with the light. I felt like this song was an intermingling of light and dark, until 1:22 when the light won. From that moment, the darkness became only occasional and faint.

6. Leaning into Light

Another perfect transition from the previous song, sonically and visually transcribed in the title. To me, song six is like the sun kissing your face, its warmth fluttering and reinvigorating your soul. At 1:14, I felt like the song gave me the sense of belonging, as if I were exactly where I’m supposed to be. The right moment, place, and time. Everything in alignment.

Between 2:15-2:52, there’s this magic that builds, bursts, and nourishes. It gives calming, reassuring energy.

The thought that comes to mind? Lean into the light of this album, and bask in its warmth.

7. chloé + jesus

A distinct, yet familiar lilting in this song as there was in track #1, as well as slight static-like sounds that tie to track #2. With these familiar characteristics, this one still generally differed sonically from what we’ve heard so far. I thought it felt like the interaction of nature’s elemental forces. Some harmony, yet minor flickers of friction which naturally resolved.

8. Norelle’s Theme

Again, there’s that familiar waltz lilt. Though a recurring rhythm, this song still sounded new to a first-time listener, and not recycled or overdone when listening again.

At this point in the album, I was hit by the musical craftsmanship that brought it to life.

9. My Dear,

This one brings depth both instrumentally and vocally. Put simply, My Dear, is a letter in the form of a song.

10. Cobblestone & Snow (The Love Me Tour Version)

I love how the album starts and ends with Joshua’s solo version and that from the band’s latest tour. Consider it a full circle musical moment. Same, but different. Both are excellent.

where we’ve always been is Joshua Paul Humlie’s first solo album, and it’s full of warm and cool sounds, tensions and resolutions, and lots of light. It’s a cohesive body of work that rejuvenates you. I thoroughly enjoyed it, and I’ll say it now… I think it’s a timeless album. One to revisit. One that re-energizes. One worth listening to over again. Joshua is a talented composer, one that I hope continues to share more originals in the future.