Will Johnson is the frontman of both the Alt-Country bands Centro-Matic and… Read Full Bio ↴Will Johnson is the frontman of both the Alt-Country bands Centro-Matic and South San Gabriel. He played drums in the band Funland prior to these groups and has played solo throughout his career. He recently released an album with Magnolia Electric Co. frontman Jason Molina under the name Molina & Johnson. He is also the performing drummer for the band Monsters of Folk.Will Johnsonâs latest solo album, Swan City Vampires, is distinguished by its immediacy and intimacy. Crisp, measured acoustic guitars cushion the Austin-based singer-songwriterâs equally precise, conspiratorial vocals, while keening pedal steel, droning electric guitars, and the occasional askew keyboard add color. The results fall somewhere in the cracks between Neil Young and Crazy Horse noise hurricanes, road-worn folk songs, and low-key alt-country barnstorming.
More tellingly, Swan City Vampires begins with a bracing, two-minute instrumental track, âParadise, Basically.â Jagged electric guitar chords ripped apart by distortion and static dominate the song, aggression thatâs tempered by an unsettled, minor-key piano melody hovering just underneath the surface. Itâs not necessarily the easiest entry into an album, but make no mistake: This tone and soundâwhich Johnson describes as âpretty uglyââis entirely deliberate.
âThe album is a little reckless out of the gate, with the first song, and I wanted that to be the case,â he says. âI wanted there to be some discomfort, some uncertainty and some oddity.â
In one sense, this approach is the result of Johnsonâs diverse musical collaborationsâincluding Monsters Of Folk with My Morning Jacketâs Jim James and Bright Eyesâ Conor Oberst; Overseas with David Bazan and Matt and Bubba Kadane; and a duo project with the late Jason Molina. However, Swan City Vampiresâ tension and doubt more obviously reflect the changes Johnson himself went through, both personally and professionally, as the album took shape. In early 2014, his mother passed away, while later that year, his band of nearly 20 years, Centro-matic, called it a day.
Both of these events are referenced directly on Swan City Vampires. The melancholic, piano-curled â(Made Us Feel Like) Kingsâ is an elegy for his groupâs musical achievements, while âThe Watchmanâ is a tribute to his late mother. The latter song is particularly poignant: It blooms from slightly frayed acoustic guitar and lilting sonic whirrs into a barrage of electric guitar pelted with distraught keyboard zapsâconveying the messiness of emotional catharsis, where grief and relief combine in imperfect ways.
âWhen the record was coming together, I was dealing with loss and a lot of uncertainty,â Johnson says. âIt was a strange time, emotionally. I didnât necessarily know what I wanted the album to transmit. There was a lot of raw emotion flying around. For the first time, I didnât have some sort of grand picture or plan for the whole record. I wanted to get as much down as I could and figure it out later.â
Perhaps as a result, Swan City Vampireâs recording sessions were brisk and economical. The album was recorded and mixed in two separate three-day sessions with different engineersâJohn Congleton (The Paper Chase, St. Vincent, Modest Mouse) and Britton Beisenherz (Monahans)âwith additional contributions from Phosphorescentâs Ricky Ray Jackson and Johnsonâs long-time creative foil, drummer Matt Pence. It marked the first time Johnson had ever done a record in this split-session fashion. âI was a little self-aware that it might have a patchwork quilt kind of feel to it,â he admits. âBut it wound up still feeling cohesive to me once I put all the songs together and sequenced them.â
What makes this cohesion even more remarkable is that Swan City Vampireâs songs were written during different points in Johnsonâs life. Several date from as far back as six years ago, when he was living in a little frame house in Bastrop, Texas, before he was married and became a father; others emerged more in the present-day, âright near the finish lineâ of the album. âThere are some different perspectives, I suppose, in the writing,â he says. âThe writing itself came from different viewpointsâor different vistas.â
However, Swan City Vampires does have some common thematic threads, including working through restlessness and major life changes, and trying to figure out whatâs next after the familiarâs been displaced. Yet more than ever, Johnson is comfortable embracing the unfamiliarâas he does on the forthright âYou vs. Off The Cuff,â when he sings the lyric, âHow perfect it is to see you again.â
âIâve never sung a line like that,â Johnson says. âIt made me uncomfortable demoing it for the first time, but in a good wayâin a way that I was finally unafraid to sing a line like that. There have been a lot of phases of my songwriting life where I probably wouldâve rolled my eyes and turned away from that. But for whatever reason, with all that was going on in my personal life, at the time it felt exactly right to sing a line like that.â
Some nice wordsâŚ
âWill Johnson is one of my favorite songwriters on Earth, and this album is as literate and addictive as any of his previous work. These songs are honest and specific while remaining open to multiple layers of interpretation. The melodies are beautiful and memorable, and Willâs voice is a complex and delicate instrument. As a long-time fan, it makes me happy to know that Will is still challenging himself to make music that truly can be called art.â â Jason Isbell
âSwan City Vampires, the new solo album from former Centro-matic frontman Will Johnson finds him in peak form. At times as beautiful and melodious as heâs ever been, at others with a primal immediacy beyond anything Iâve ever heard him do. Raw and urgent, this album is a thing of immense beauty that only gets better with each repeated listen. This could end up being my favorite album heâs ever made.â â Patterson Hood (Drive-By Truckers)
âSwan City Vampires is another fantastic release from Will Johnson. Itâs melancholy, hazy but hopeful. Itâs tuneful, complex, and beautiful. At times it seems to me like a fever dream, but with sudden stunning moments of clarity. Iâve been listening to it a lot in the early mornings, but I think itâs also a dusk record, as itâs shadows reveal new things each time. Scary like a vampire, pretty like a swan, buzzing like a city. Will again delights and surprises.â â Craig Finn
More tellingly, Swan City Vampires begins with a bracing, two-minute instrumental track, âParadise, Basically.â Jagged electric guitar chords ripped apart by distortion and static dominate the song, aggression thatâs tempered by an unsettled, minor-key piano melody hovering just underneath the surface. Itâs not necessarily the easiest entry into an album, but make no mistake: This tone and soundâwhich Johnson describes as âpretty uglyââis entirely deliberate.
âThe album is a little reckless out of the gate, with the first song, and I wanted that to be the case,â he says. âI wanted there to be some discomfort, some uncertainty and some oddity.â
In one sense, this approach is the result of Johnsonâs diverse musical collaborationsâincluding Monsters Of Folk with My Morning Jacketâs Jim James and Bright Eyesâ Conor Oberst; Overseas with David Bazan and Matt and Bubba Kadane; and a duo project with the late Jason Molina. However, Swan City Vampiresâ tension and doubt more obviously reflect the changes Johnson himself went through, both personally and professionally, as the album took shape. In early 2014, his mother passed away, while later that year, his band of nearly 20 years, Centro-matic, called it a day.
Both of these events are referenced directly on Swan City Vampires. The melancholic, piano-curled â(Made Us Feel Like) Kingsâ is an elegy for his groupâs musical achievements, while âThe Watchmanâ is a tribute to his late mother. The latter song is particularly poignant: It blooms from slightly frayed acoustic guitar and lilting sonic whirrs into a barrage of electric guitar pelted with distraught keyboard zapsâconveying the messiness of emotional catharsis, where grief and relief combine in imperfect ways.
âWhen the record was coming together, I was dealing with loss and a lot of uncertainty,â Johnson says. âIt was a strange time, emotionally. I didnât necessarily know what I wanted the album to transmit. There was a lot of raw emotion flying around. For the first time, I didnât have some sort of grand picture or plan for the whole record. I wanted to get as much down as I could and figure it out later.â
Perhaps as a result, Swan City Vampireâs recording sessions were brisk and economical. The album was recorded and mixed in two separate three-day sessions with different engineersâJohn Congleton (The Paper Chase, St. Vincent, Modest Mouse) and Britton Beisenherz (Monahans)âwith additional contributions from Phosphorescentâs Ricky Ray Jackson and Johnsonâs long-time creative foil, drummer Matt Pence. It marked the first time Johnson had ever done a record in this split-session fashion. âI was a little self-aware that it might have a patchwork quilt kind of feel to it,â he admits. âBut it wound up still feeling cohesive to me once I put all the songs together and sequenced them.â
What makes this cohesion even more remarkable is that Swan City Vampireâs songs were written during different points in Johnsonâs life. Several date from as far back as six years ago, when he was living in a little frame house in Bastrop, Texas, before he was married and became a father; others emerged more in the present-day, âright near the finish lineâ of the album. âThere are some different perspectives, I suppose, in the writing,â he says. âThe writing itself came from different viewpointsâor different vistas.â
However, Swan City Vampires does have some common thematic threads, including working through restlessness and major life changes, and trying to figure out whatâs next after the familiarâs been displaced. Yet more than ever, Johnson is comfortable embracing the unfamiliarâas he does on the forthright âYou vs. Off The Cuff,â when he sings the lyric, âHow perfect it is to see you again.â
âIâve never sung a line like that,â Johnson says. âIt made me uncomfortable demoing it for the first time, but in a good wayâin a way that I was finally unafraid to sing a line like that. There have been a lot of phases of my songwriting life where I probably wouldâve rolled my eyes and turned away from that. But for whatever reason, with all that was going on in my personal life, at the time it felt exactly right to sing a line like that.â
Some nice wordsâŚ
âWill Johnson is one of my favorite songwriters on Earth, and this album is as literate and addictive as any of his previous work. These songs are honest and specific while remaining open to multiple layers of interpretation. The melodies are beautiful and memorable, and Willâs voice is a complex and delicate instrument. As a long-time fan, it makes me happy to know that Will is still challenging himself to make music that truly can be called art.â â Jason Isbell
âSwan City Vampires, the new solo album from former Centro-matic frontman Will Johnson finds him in peak form. At times as beautiful and melodious as heâs ever been, at others with a primal immediacy beyond anything Iâve ever heard him do. Raw and urgent, this album is a thing of immense beauty that only gets better with each repeated listen. This could end up being my favorite album heâs ever made.â â Patterson Hood (Drive-By Truckers)
âSwan City Vampires is another fantastic release from Will Johnson. Itâs melancholy, hazy but hopeful. Itâs tuneful, complex, and beautiful. At times it seems to me like a fever dream, but with sudden stunning moments of clarity. Iâve been listening to it a lot in the early mornings, but I think itâs also a dusk record, as itâs shadows reveal new things each time. Scary like a vampire, pretty like a swan, buzzing like a city. Will again delights and surprises.â â Craig Finn
From This I Will Awake
Will Johnson Lyrics
We have lyrics for 'From This I Will Awake' by these artists:
South San Gabriel Johnson From this I will awake While at the same time yo…
We have lyrics for these tracks by Will Johnson:
Bloody Boxer It has come to me that my dignity And my darkest…
Just to Know What You've Been Dreaming I would walk a thousand miles, Just to know what you've…
Vultures Await I heard you tried to come today I tried to make…
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