Hunter Johnson

Enter Americana at its finest. Despite The Very First being a collection of demos from Hunter Johnson spanning November 2011 to September 2012 rather than a true album, it should be in your collection if you’re a fan of blues, folk, Americana, etc. I’ve been scouring the internet for a while now trying to find some new roots music like this, so it feels like a personal accomplishment on my part.

For those who’ve had doubt in them, heartbreak put on them, struggle within and without them, moments of solitude, moments of anger at the world; for those seekers of minimalistic motivational anthems, for music that soothes the blues and cages rage, for expressions of our vices and the acceptance of it as life…this album deserves to be a part of you.

It’s often the rawest albums that penetrate the depths of humanity, like when Johnny Cash sings to prisoners at Folsom or San Quentin, yet somehow reaches the guards there, and the average listener elsewhere wanting reprieves. These albums, like The Very First, last longer than a generation and span farther than hipster praises or skin colour and gender. Why? Because the songs are about struggle, true struggle, and, most importantly, about overcoming struggle, something lacking in a lot of music nowadays, but explicit in the old blues folk tunes.

It begins with a Neil Young-esque grunginess to it. That kind of grunginess that oozes blues, which is matched by the lyrics as the protagonist struggles with the life-controlling aspects of love and the subsequent getting over this love after experiencing a non-reciprocating relationship (whether this is a physical or abstract kind of love ain’t my concern). The drums thunder, the guitar forms a defensive wall around the lyrics, and the vocals passionately sing out the heartbreak, mixing anger with sadness.

“The Red, White, and Blue” is the folk anthem of our socioeconomic times since 2007: “I got no money to pay my bills/My wife grew tired and had her fill…Don’t want no government to bail me out…I bleed your red, white, and blue/but the lies have destroyed you/broken promises and dreams that won’t come true…I am lost and can’t find my way/so I vote and try to change my fate/but it’s a scam because they’re all the same/same broke down car just different paint.” Haven’t heard a simple folk tune like this that manages to say something through minimalism in a long time.

“Feather on the Wind” has a great dialogue between vocals and acoustic guitar that would’ve fit in well during the 60s folk movements. The lyrics are poetic (“Like a feather on the wind, I rise and fall, but I fly again; “‘Cause in the battle between good and evil, no one wins”) and tells a beautiful story at the same time. The occasional guitar mistakes augment the awesomeness of this song.

“One True Love” is another song that is minimalistic in technique, but expansive in style that lifts the listener to a motivational resolve. The tone of the guitar, the strength of the vocals, the rise and fall of the chords need no drums, bass or added instrumentation. It takes a truly remarkable talent to achieve this. Just listen to the song with headphones and the let the expansiveness flow into you like a tide at sunset or a drag from a cigarette after a long day.

Only thing to criticize is that I wish he’d have more vocal experimentations like the old blues musicians did. Experimentation is how the blues finds the soul. But there are times when he sounds like a present-age Bob Dylan. Unfortunately, few respect new Bob Dylan’s nowadays.

Regardless, this is an amazing collection of folk tunes. The album won’t be available once Hunter Johnson’s new album is released, so get it HERE while you can and support him if you can.

Well done.

Tracks to peep: The whole fucking album, but I guess “Threw It All Away,” “Soulless Train,” “The Red, White, and Blue”, “Feather on the Wind”, “One True Love”, “Hangman’s Noose” - Bunkey and the sheep