featuring the very best of americana, alt.country and roots music
September 17, 2023
Scott Foley, purveyor of dust
And somehow I'm still out here, seeing your faces
In likely and unlikely places
Somewhere playing too loud
Jason Isbell closed his 2015 masterpiece, Something More Than Free, with these words. The song, "To a Band That I Loved", paid loving tribute to Centro-Matic, the essential Denton, TX act fronted by Will Johnson (who led the same lineup under the South San Gabriel moniker on their quieter releases). Nearly ten years after his band formally declared a hiatus, Johnson was invited to tour with Isbell's 400 Unit for their 2023 tour.
In addition to playing with those Denton bands, Will Johnson's sprawling catalogue includes work alongside Jason Molina, Jay Farrar, Vic Chesnutt, Conor Oberst, and many others, not to mention releasing a handful of excellent solo albums, publishing a novel, and hanging his baseball-themed artwork at a couple dozen galleries. Most recently, Johnson is typically found on a steady string of living room concerts, only his guitar in tow, no doubt playing too loud.
No Ordinary Crown (Keeled Scales) marks his eighth project under his own name, though he has tended to gather many of the same collaborators for the last few collections. Producer Britton Beisenherz has worked with Johnson since 2015's Swan City Vampires. Multi-instrumentalist/vocalist Lindsey Verrill (Little Mazarn) came on board with 2019's Wire Mountain. Guitarist Ricky Ray Jackson and drummer Roberto Sanchez have been frequent collaborators as well. Johnson demonstrated his familiarity and trust in the outfit by sending them the bare demos for his new songs and challenging them to create their own accompaniment.
No matter the vehicle, Will Johnson's sound has been consistent from album to album. Electric guitars are thick and churning; the singer's voice a calm and measured presence within the tempest. "Along the Runner (No Ordinary Crown)" adds an atmospheric drone and peals of feedback, sound building on sound towards an extended electric outro a'la Centro-Matic. "Sinker, Sinking" builds a solid wall of static with keyboards and pounding drums supporting the enveloping guitar. It's a pop song for the greater part, Johnson comments, but lyrically zeroes in on its subject hiding out while the storm builds outside. Clocking in under two minutes, "Swine" buries vocals deeper into the relentless fuzz.
But there's always more to Will Johnson's songs than pummeling noise, as No Ordinary Crown demonstrates. Even at his loudest, he doesn't make music that is ugly or indulgent. The arrangement on "Conduct" is spacious, ratcheting percussion separated from guitar and humming keys: You got a right to be / Unsettled with me Johnson sings, his delivery lifting into an unexpectedly elevated croon. The contributions of his collaborators is essential in ensuring this nuance on songs like the beautiful "Of Passengers and Plight". Verrill's cello and Jackson's pedal steel recall the lighter touch of Richmond Fontaine: I tracked all my footprints / Walking backward through the snow / And I channeled Danny Torrance / Who I always wished I had known.
Will Johnson is increasingly a lyrical impressionist, employing fewer, more meaning-heavy words to suggest landscapes, moods, and archetypes. "In Granada" shares glimpses from time in Spain: I taught myself a new kind of patience / I taught myself how to heal a lame man. Cello and banjo give way to tick-tock drums, ambient voices, and a mounting trance. Tuned timpani drums and guttural, almost bluesy electric guitar drive the instrumental "Alta (Warped Kite)". "Tempest Time Again" sets the highpoint for No Ordinary Crown, an alchemy of the band's disparate parts, and a reminder of Johnson's capacity for an evocative vocal.
As longtime appreciators of Will Johnson's integral body of work, our hope is that his time on huge stages with Jason Isbell's 400 Unit will bring Johnson's music to new ears. Even more interesting will be how his experience adds new shades to his solo songs. Sonically, No Ordinary Crown covers a wider swath than any of Johnson's earlier records, even as the songwriter remains dedicated to his own muse. Isbell's accolade and appreciation remain relevant: May you find what you gave, all that hope / Somewhere down at the end of your rope.
ROUTES-cast September 17, 2023
- Cat Power, "Ballad of a Thin Man" Sings Dylan: 1966 Royal Albert Hall Concert (Domino, Nov 10) D
- David Eugene Edwards, "Weaver's Beam" Hyacinth (Sargent House, Sep 29)
^ Will Johnson, "Tempest Time Again" No Ordinary Crown (Keeled Scales, 23)
- Big Thief, "Born For Loving You" single (4AD, 23) D
- Full Time Men, "I Got Wheels" Part Time Job (Yep Roc, Oct 27) D
- Nick Shoulders, "Blue Endless Highway" All Bad (Gar Hole, 23)
- Howdies, "Hello Jukebox" Howdies All Around (Normaltown, Sep 29)
- Briscoe, "Hill Country Baby" West of It All (ATO, 23)
- Van Plating, "They're Gonna Kill You Anyway (ft Damn Quails)" Orange Blossom Child (Singular, 23)
- John R Miller, "Basements" Heat Comes Down (Rounder, Oct 6)
- Uncle Lucius, "Keep Singing Along" Like It's the Last One Left (Boo Clap, Dec 8) D
- Jon Dee Graham, "See You By the Fire" Only Dead For a Little While (Strolling Bones, Nov 10) D
- Daniel Donato, "Hi-Country" Reflector (Retrace, Nov 10)
- Margo Cilker, "I Remember Carolina" Valley of Heart's Delight (Fluff & Gravy, 23)
- Sun June, "Easy Violence" Bad Dream Jaguar (Run For Cover, Oct 20)
- Viv & Riley, "Flashing Lights" Imaginary People (Free Dirt, 23)
- Lily & Madeleine, "No Part of Me" Nite Swim (Lily & Madeleine, Oct 6)
- Margo Price, "Black Wolf Blues" Strays II (Loma Vista, Oct 12)
- Allison Russell, "Springtime" The Returner (Fantasy, 23)
- Low Cut Connie, "Call Out My Name" Art Dealers (Contender, 23)
- Bones of JR Jones, "I'll See You In Hell" Slow Lightning (Bones, Oct 13)
- Third Mind, "Groovin' Is Easy" Third Mind 2 (Yep Roc, Oct 27) D
- Shakey Graves, "Lowlife" Movie of the Week (Dualtone, 23)
- Wilco, "Cousin" Cousin (dBpm, Sep 29)
- Staves, "You Had It All" single (Nonesuch, 23) D
- Connie Lovatt, "Kid" Coconut Mirror (Enchante, Sep 27) D
- Molly Burch, "Tattoo" Daydreamer (Captured Tracks, Sep 29)
- Great Lake Swimmers, "Peacemaker" Said the Firefly to the Hurricane: Celebration of the Oeuvre of Kevn Kinney (Tasty Goody, Nov 24)
- Maybel, "Rebloom" Gloam (Idee Fixe, Oct 27)
- Maren Morris, "Get the Hell Out of Here" The Bridge EP (Columbia, 23) D
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