featuring the very best of americana, alt.country and roots music
September 23, 2026
Scott Foley, purveyor of dust
In all his incarnations, Will Johnson has been a subtly entrancing figure in our kind of music. As the frontman for Centro-Matic and/or South San Gabriel, as a solo singer-songwriter, working alongside Jason Molina, collaborating on New Multitudes and Monsters Of Folk, pairing with Justin Peter Kinkel-Schuster in Marie/Lepanto, with the Kadanes in Overseas, or drumming behind Jason Isbell in his 400 Unit. See also Johnson's terrific current work beneath the Magnolia & Johnson Electric Co, ensuring a lasting legacy for Molina's latter work. It's an almost unmatched run, a waltz across genres and musical partners that has stirred up little popular attention despite earning an abiding following among his dedicated fans.
For our own all-too-brief tribute, we've chosen to restrict our appreciation to just his solo projects and that with Centro-Matic and South San Gabriel. Even that provides a huge challenge in light of Johnson's exceptionally prolific early period. For the sake of representation, we chose to add one song per record for most projects. So, in the end, what we present this week is more a survey than a favorites list. The evolution from nearly-emo guitar slasher to introspective short-story writer with a guitar is impressive. Along the way, we hear the influence of Molina himself, as well as Vic Chesnutt and Patterson Hood, as Will Johnson gradually settles into his own literary expression.
WiLL JOHNSON & CO: thirty favorites
- Centro-Matic, "Fidgeting Wildly" Redo the Stacks (1996)
- Centro-Matic, "Numbers One and Three" Navigational (1999)
- Centro-Matic, "Calling Up the Bastards" Static vs the Strings (1999)
- Centro-Matic, "Huge In Every City" All the Falsest Hearts Can Try (1999)
- Centro-Matic, "Proud Son Of Gaffney" South San Gabriel Songs-Music (2000)
- Centro-Matic, "To Unleash the Horses Now" Distance and Clime (2001)
- Will Johnson, "Re-run Pills" Murder Of Tides (2002)
- Will Johnson, "Tent Of Total Mystery" Murder Of Tides (2002)
- South San Gabriel, "Saint Augustine" Welcome Convalescence (2003)
- Centro-Matic, "Flashes and Cables" Love You Just the Same (2003)
- Will Johnson, "Just To Know What You've Been Dreaming" Vultures Await (2004)
- Will Johnson, "Closing Down My House" Vultures Await (2004)
- South San Gabriel, "I Feel Too Young To Die" Carlton Chronicles (2005)
- Centro-Matic, "Patience For the Ride" Fort Recovery (2006)
- Centro-Matic, "Atlanta" Operation Motorcide (2007)
- Centro-Matic & South San Gabriel, "Emma Jane" Dual Hawks (2008)
- Centro-Matic & South San Gabriel, "Rat Patrol and DJs" Dual Hawks (2008)
- Molina & Johnson, "Twenty Cycles To the Ground" Molina & Johnson (2009)
- Centro-Matic & South San Gabriel, "Inhabitants" Eyas (2010)
- Centro-Matic, "Against the Line" Candidate Waltz (2011)
- Will Johnson, "You Will Be Here Mine" Scorpion (2012)
- Centro-Matic, "Salty Disciple" Take Pride In Your Long Odds (2014)
- Will Johnson, "Nameless But a Lover" Swan City Vampires (2015)
- Will Johnson, "Call Call Call" Swan City Vampires (2015)
- Will Johnson, "Childress (To Ogden)" Hatteras Night a Good Luck Charm (2017)
- Will Johnson, "Predator" Hatteras Night a Good Luck Charm (2017)
- Will Johnson, "Cornelius" Wire Mountain (2019)
- Will Johnson, "El Capitan" El Capitan (2020)
- Will Johnson, "Sinker Sinking" No Ordinary Crown (2023)
- Will Johnson, "Unfamiliar Ghost" Diamond City (2025)
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