More tellingly, Swan City Vampires begins with a bracing, two-minute instrumental track, “Paradise, Basically.” Jagged electric guitar chords ripped apart by distortion and static dominate the song, aggression that’s tempered by an unsettled, minor-key piano melody hovering just underneath the surface. It’s not necessarily the easiest entry into an album, but make no mistake: This tone and sound—which Johnson describes as “pretty ugly”—is entirely deliberate.
“The album is a little reckless out of the gate, with the first song, and I wanted that to be the case,” he says. “I wanted there to be some discomfort, some uncertainty and some oddity.”
In one sense, this approach is the result of Johnson’s diverse musical collaborations—including Monsters Of Folk with My Morning Jacket’s Jim James and Bright Eyes’ Conor Oberst; Overseas with David Bazan and Matt and Bubba Kadane; and a duo project with the late Jason Molina. However, Swan City Vampires’ 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 “(Made Us Feel Like) Kings” is an elegy for his group’s musical achievements, while “The Watchman” 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 zaps—conveying the messiness of emotional catharsis, where grief and relief combine in imperfect ways.
“When the record was coming together, I was dealing with loss and a lot of uncertainty,” Johnson says. “It was a strange time, emotionally. I didn’t necessarily know what I wanted the album to transmit. There was a lot of raw emotion flying around. For the first time, I didn’t 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.”
Perhaps as a result, Swan City Vampire’s recording sessions were brisk and economical. The album was recorded and mixed in two separate three-day sessions with different engineers—John Congleton (The Paper Chase, St. Vincent, Modest Mouse) and Britton Beisenherz (Monahans)—with additional contributions from Phosphorescent’s Ricky Ray Jackson and Johnson’s long-time creative foil, drummer Matt Pence. It marked the first time Johnson had ever done a record in this split-session fashion. “I was a little self-aware that it might have a patchwork quilt kind of feel to it,” he admits. “But it wound up still feeling cohesive to me once I put all the songs together and sequenced them.”
What makes this cohesion even more remarkable is that Swan City Vampire’s songs were written during different points in Johnson’s 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, “right near the finish line” of the album. “There are some different perspectives, I suppose, in the writing,” he says. “The writing itself came from different viewpoints—or different vistas.”
However, Swan City Vampires does have some common thematic threads, including working through restlessness and major life changes, and trying to figure out what’s next after the familiar’s been displaced. Yet more than ever, Johnson is comfortable embracing the unfamiliar—as he does on the forthright “You vs. Off The Cuff,” when he sings the lyric, “How perfect it is to see you again.”
“I’ve never sung a line like that,” Johnson says. “It made me uncomfortable demoing it for the first time, but in a good way—in 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 would’ve 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.”
Some nice words…
“Will 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 Will’s 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.” – Jason Isbell
“Swan 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 he’s ever been, at others with a primal immediacy beyond anything I’ve 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 he’s ever made.” – Patterson Hood (Drive-By Truckers)
“Swan City Vampires is another fantastic release from Will Johnson. It’s melancholy, hazy but hopeful. It’s tuneful, complex, and beautiful. At times it seems to me like a fever dream, but with sudden stunning moments of clarity. I’ve been listening to it a lot in the early mornings, but I think it’s also a dusk record, as it’s shadows reveal new things each time. Scary like a vampire, pretty like a swan, buzzing like a city. Will again delights and surprises.” – Craig Finn
Vultures Await
Will Johnson Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I tried to make my great escape
Tears for the part
Make a brand new start
So we made the darkness go away
Running forty laughs a day
A track of blood and hearts
I never got that far
Take a new disguise
Vultures await, await
Ghousts and demons slumber now
The devil tries as curse and play
Solids and the stars
Fail to drawn a sound, a sound
Lights in your eyes
Take a new disguise
Vultures await, await
The song "Vultures Await" by Will Johnson speaks about escape, moving forward, and the fight against one's inner demons. The opening lines show a struggle between trying to get away from the parts of his life that have brought him pain but also the difficulty in doing so. The lyrics "Tears for the part" suggest that he is leaving something behind that meant a lot to him. He and his loved one managed to escape and create a new life without the darkness that plagued them. The lyrics "Running forty laughs a day, a track of blood and hearts, I never got that far" imply that the escape was not easy, and although they did flee, their wounds still lingered. It signifies moving forward but not entirely leaving their past behind.
The next set of lyrics talks about the push and pull that one faces while trying to change their life. It suggests that the past and the present are two different entities, and one must learn to adapt and change to move forward. "Lights in your eyes, take a new disguise" is a metaphor for changing one's outlook and life altogether. The last line of the song, "Vultures await, await" is an indication that even though he has managed to escape his troubles, he knows the demons within him always cling and wait for an opportunity to prey on him, signifying that his struggle against them will continue.
Line by Line Meaning
I heard you tried to come today
I was informed that you attempted to visit me
I tried to make my great escape
I attempted to leave or run away in a significant manner
Tears for the part
Crying for the past and what has been lost
Make a brand new start
Begin anew, free from past struggles or sorrow
So we made the darkness go away
Together, we dispelled the gloom and despair
Running forty laughs a day
Joyously and carefree, perhaps at a breakneck pace
A track of blood and hearts
A path filled with passion and emotion
I never got that far
I did not manage to progress or achieve my goals
Lights in your eyes
The brightness or sparkle in someone's gaze
Take a new disguise
Put on a fresh facade or persona
Vultures await, await
Dangerous and deceitful individuals are looming, waiting to pounce
Ghosts and demons slumber now
Supernatural beings are currently dormant or at rest
The devil tries as curse and play
The malevolent force is attempting to harm and manipulate
Solids and the stars
All tangible and celestial entities
Fail to draw a sound, a sound
Remain silent, without a single noise or response
Contributed by Zachary H. Suggest a correction in the comments below.