New Music Critique: Nicholas Johnson

Production8
Lyrics8
Music8
Vocals8
Musicianship9
8.2

Nicholas Johnson
Contact:
[email protected]
Web: nicholasjohnsonmusic.com
Seeking: Booking, Film/TV
Style: Indie Rock/Americana

From its reverb-laced production to its palm-muted guitar, sublimely soggy drum tone, warm organ breezes, soaring guitar fills, and especially his rustic lead vocals (backed up effectively by a harmonic female singer), Nicholas Johnson achieves the ideal sound for his material, whose novelistic lyrics often explore the underbelly of our everyday world. “Middle of Nowhere, Ohio” is a perfect example of his art. On the moody, downtempo “New Vampire,” he give his pedal-steel player plenty of room to whine, and he does it effectively. The organ player excels again on “The Damned and the Lonely,” where all the strengths of this project are on display. All that’s lacking right now is a drop-dead killer tune that’s catchy as a cold.