by Dominic Acito (@mycamgrlromance)
Johnny, the second full length effort from the New Orleans group Lawn, is a sprawling album with continuous shifts in dynamics that surprise the listener as the two main songwriters trade turns showcasing their distinctive but harmonious styles of songwriting. It’s an album of contrasting styles, at once pop and post-punk influenced. The result is an innovative amalgam of the most appealing elements of both genres.
The second track, “Honest to God/Paper” is the perfect example of those dynamics. It begins as a haunting piece with the repeated phrase “honest to god” over a simple but driving bass line as music continues to build. Its infectious mantra is difficult to lose even after you’ve finished listening. The song then song erupts into its post-punk, Mission of Burma style second act that jerks the listener from hypnosis and urges them to dance.
There are moments on this album, which if listened to independently would seem to have been recorded in the early 80s post punk explosion. This illusion is quickly shattered when the band brings out instrumentation and vocal melodies that are of the same lineage as more modern indie bands like Parquet Courts and Ought.
Lawn’s music gives several nods to Bob Dylan songs (their last album bearing the title Blood on the Tracks which is sung in a way that evokes David Byrne) and with a standout lyric on Johnny of “no direction home” the music feels more influenced by Wire, Minutemen and The Kinks than the classic rock songs they namecheck. It makes one wonder whether the Dylan reference is intentional or not.
Though the album consists of upbeat Minutemen-esque collection of songs, the lyrics occasionally take a turn for more gritty and political. “Jane Ryan” is one such track which gets its title from the pseudonym of Imelda Marcos, a Filipino politician who holds the Guinness book of records for Greatest Robbery of Government. Similarly, “Summertime” which feels like an ode to beautiful summer evenings with the repeated phrase “in the summertime” breaks this illusion as it includes the story of a racist encounter where a stranger tells the narrator “How you dare hide that accent away, away from me”.
The lyrics serve to remind the listener the challenge of remaining apolitical in a world where racist remarks can tear through someone’s daily routine. In the end, optimism re-emerges with the track “Smile” which features another one of the many infectious refrains “Don’t steal that smile from me”.
It’s clear that the members of Lawn are students of a broad mix of music and the result is musicianship that is influenced by a myriad of artists. Johnny is a fitting tapestry used to knit their influences out into a bigger expression. Lawn have a deep catalogue of musical understanding and haven’t exhausted all of their ideas.