Lawn return with Johnny this Friday, September 4, via Community Records / Muscle Beach Records
New Orleans indie-rockers Lawn recently announced their sophomore LP, Johnny, due out September 4, 2020 via a collaboration between Community Records (Hikes, Slingshot Dakota) & Muscle Beach Records (Kate Teague, Molly Drag) and available for pre-order on vinyl HERE.
The trio is led by bandmates Mac Folger and Rui DeMagalhaes, who released their raw and scrappy debut, Blood on the Tracks, on Minneapolis label Forged Artifacts back in 2018. Recorded over three months with friend and local mainstay Matthew Seferian (Pope, Matt Surfin’ & Friends), Johnny is a massive step forward for the band: intense but effortless, jumping to and from ragged post-punk and gleeful ‘90s indie-rock hooks.
Now the band has shared a new animated music video for the jangle-pop title track, which is streaming below.
Written mostly by Folger, it details growing up in a liberal Tennessee bubble and realizing you still have to take responsibility for the privilege into which you were born. “I grew up thinking I was right and a good person, because I came from a liberal background,” he explains. “I took that for granted growing up, and I realized that was bullshit. ‘Johnny’ is my grandfather’s name, and the song is directed at him.”
Instantly a warmth vibrates though the strings and resonates throughout the entirety of Johnny. This warmth shines before the rhythmic vocals join the arrangement. The lyrics delve into those family projections, family beliefs, and individual growth, a real honesty to this story, however the deep lyrics are masked with the infectious and lifting harmony.
The drums hone in on the intensity of this progressing instrumentation, uniting the power when the build-up of the track is joined by scaling guitar notes and bass beats. Lawn have such a unique sound and strength to their outlook. They flawlessly flitter between crushing shreds and instrumentation to delicate and intertwining intricate elements yet equally powerful melodies. Combining emotive lyrics that intimately feel familiar, with elevated dynamic orchestral momentum.
This band has elements of Albert Hammond Jr on riffs, twinkly scratches of Modest Mouse and a vocalist which is so possessive such as David Byrne- yet together, their unique fresh and promising vision is something they can call their own.
Johnny Tracklisting:
1) Playing Dumb
2) Honest to God / Paper
3) Talk Of The Town
4) Nighttime Creatures
5) Jane Ryan
6) Sunshine
7) Summertime
8) Johnny
9) Smile
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