Judah Johnson Judah Johnson EP

[Flameshovel; 2001]

Rating: 3.5/5

Styles: indie rock
Others: Travis, The Flaming Lips, Saso


Okay, just forget about the dubious band name and concentrate on the music. Judah Johnson's eponymous debut EP is as grand as they get. Featuring six lengthy epics, the Detroit-based quintet exhibit their mastery of their instruments in about a half an hour of your precious time. Sure you could be doing other things, such as watching TV, but if you skip just one episode of the Osbournes, you'll be subjected to one of the most overlooked post-rock albums released last year.

The EP draws a string of comparisons from artists such as the Flaming Lips ("The Silent Treament") and Saso ("The Thinker") to Travis ("Fortunecookie") and even Cursive ("Tele Viv"). Though there's nothing particularly groundbreaking or revolutionary, the band manages to culminate the aforementioned groups into a style they can call their own.

Taking a cue from the demo-quality to slick-production studio gimmick of Built to Spill and Discontinuity, the album begins with a shoddily recorded piano and muffled vocals, which later segues to "The Silent Treament," a full-blown soundtrack for the heartbroken fool who is just recovering from his lost love. The song continues, using guitars, keyboards, and beautiful vocal harmonies to crescendo toward a heavenly climax. Next is "Fortunecookie," a melody-based song that breathes new life into the common chord progression that it utilizes. Once again taking advantage of their visceral vocal cords, the harmonies create a silky ambience washed over the slightly distorted drums.

A bulk of the songs are snail-paced, dragging the listener through their world of melancholy bliss mixed with world-weary ache. But the group knows just when to pick things up, evident on the upbeat "Tele Viv," featuring crunchy distortion and a 7/4 metered time signature. "The Thinker" slows things down again with beautiful, minor-ish guitar chords and thick-as-a-milkshake vocal harmonies-- although, the harmonies wear a bit thin on the beginning of this track, but later flourish when they are used in the second verse for an extra added amount of dynamic strength. The EP ends, much like it began, with "Feelings for Skin," a demo-quality recording that serves as a much needed release from the highly produced album.

What Judah Johnson does better than most of the post-rock bands out there is that they effectively combine memorable vocal melodies above the somber chords. It's apparent that these drawn-out songs were first a melodic pop song, but later painted with a grand ambience and a beautiful wash of harmonies. Most groups with this instrumental impact force clumsy vocals just to have vocals, while this debut EP could fair just as well with or without the vocals. With the sophistication of Sigur Ros and the pop sensibility of Travis, Judah Johnson has primed itself for a wider audience. Having just formed in 1999 and this EP acting as their debut release, it's scary to think how good these guys could get. Let's just hope they don't rely too much on consonance and slick production techniques to elevate their songs.

1. The Silent Treatment
2. Fortunecookie
3. Tongue Kiss on Ecuador
4. Tele Viv
5. The Thinker
6. Feelings for Skin

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