Search - John Hermanson :: John Hermanson

John Hermanson's self-titled CD is the next chapter in an already successful musical career which started with Storyhill (AKA Chris & Johnny), an acoustic duo who sold more than 30,000 copies of their nine independently-released CDs before parting ways fifteen months ago. The 11-song CD was co-produced by Hermanson and Minnesota recording luminary Alex Oana at Minneapolis' Seedy Underbelly (Semisonic, GVSB, Jonny Lang) and features the contributions of drummer Eric Fawcett (Spymob, Matt Wilson). It is an album of rich, atmospheric folk-pop laced with strings and layered percussion songs that would come from a convergence of Elliot Smith, John Denver, the Jayhawks, and Jackson Browne. Here's what to expect: On the lovely baroque-pop jewel Background Vocals, John squeezes lush strings and dissonant piano into an homage to two of the greatest treasures of adolescence: True Love and the power of a great record. "I'm gonna live this summer like the songs on the radio..." A lone guitar underpins an unforgettable vocal performance in Letter of the Law, an uncommonly pretty tale of how good intentions and the best-laid plans can be demolished from without as well as from within. A tour-de-force reminiscent of Tim Buckley or Martin Sexton. Rockstarrin delivers rump-thumpin action propelled by Ben Folds Five-styled honky-skronk piano. BIG rock that explores the morning-after side of relationships tentatively forged in the heat of rockshow lust. The halting, throttling guitar technique in Weight of Wanting perfectly reflects the song's claustrophobic subject a heavy, pre-storm summer day as a metaphor for the inching of time and ensuing black thoughts of betrayal when missing a lover. In Time Capsule, a haunting nod to the inexplicable seductiveness of melancholy, sweet strings and a funereal tempo form the backdrop as a flawed, real-life relationship is laid to rest, only to be re-born as perfect memory. If John Denver had been the hippest, most soulful guy ever, he'd have sounded like this.