AU GRES – Single Review: “do you think we’re old enough”

There’s a lot of music talent coming out of southern Michigan, and over the past year or so I’ve written about a number of artists and bands putting out some really exceptional music, including Michigander, Dawning, Jack Droppers & the Best Intentions, Jake LeMond, and Au Gres (aka Joshua Kemp). A talented singer-songwriter and all-around personable guy, Joshua named his music project after the small town of Au Gres, located in a rural area of northern Michigan where he vacationed as a youth with his family, and which holds a special meaning for him.

He released his sweet debut single “Nervous” in October 2020, which has been streamed 116,000 times on Spotify, then followed in February 2021 with “At Home in the Dark”, a beautiful and exuberant song of love and devotion. I liked both songs so much, they each spent many weeks on my Weekly Top 30, with “At Home in the Dark” ending up at #73 on my Top 100 Songs of 2021 list. (I also reviewed both songs, which you can read by clicking on the ‘Related’ links at the end of this post.) Now Au Gres returns with a lovely new single, “do you think we’re old enough“, an introspective song of hope for a better future.

The song finds Au Gres reminiscing about life on a rainy summer day, wistfully thinking about his youthful dreams and ambitions. Though he’s somewhat disappointed that some have gone unmet, and that life may not have turned out quite the way he’d envisioned, he remains optimistic that greater success will come with time and maturity. “I’m so sorry for dreaming about the future. Maybe I’ll be better when we’re old enough. Hey I’m sorry for dreaming about the future. Hey I’m sorry. Do you think we’re old enough?“

Musically, the song has a serene, dreamy vibe, with beautiful delicately-strummed acoustic guitar notes layered over intricate glittery synths, punctuated here and there with subtle percussive sounds that add interesting texture to the enchanting soundscape. The gentle drum fills are just the right touch to drive the song forward without overpowering the other instruments. Joshua has a pleasing singing voice, and his smooth, comforting vocals are well-suited to his sound and music style. Here, he nicely conveys a slight sense of melancholy, while also expressing feelings of optimism and hope in the choruses.

With “do you think we’re old enough”, Au Gres has delivered another winning single, and I love that he used a photo of himself as a young toddler attempting to play the piano for the single’s cover art.