There’s an unpretentious quality to Elijah Johnston’s subjects that makes his songs deeply accessible. On Stupid Soul, the Atlanta artist covers a wide swath of topics from the seemingly mundane – the feeling of excitement around football season (in the aptly titled “Football Season”) – to weightier subjects, like the guilt of teenage sexual exploration when you are raised in purity culture (“I Know What You Did Last Summer”). Not every song has to be about love/death and our place in the world, and Johnston does a laudable job of balancing some of life’s tougher emotions with more routine topics.
The album also does a solid job of dodging classification. “Ideas,” one of the catchiest songs on the record, sounds like a 1990s alternative radio staple. At the same time, “Keep It To Yourself” is a solid Americana track, and “Baby Bands” sounds like a Beach Boys deep cut, complete with lush arrangements and beautiful harmonies.
The album also includes a cover of Bruce Springsteen’s “Valentine’s Day,” off of 1987’s Tunnel Of Love. It’s an odd choice as it was not one of the album’s five singles, and it’s hardly a live staple for Bruce, but Johnston does a fantastic job of making the song his own here.
Although Johnston’s name is on the album, he stresses that song for song, the album was a collective effort. “I would come to them with all these musical references and ideas about what the album could be, and they’re so good with framing it and finding ways to make it sound like us. We made an effort to make something that felt more like a group of people in a room, and we decided that if the four of us couldn’t all find a way to play on a song, then we wouldn’t do it,” he says.
He’s joined by his brother, Gideon, who drums in the band; producer and bassist Tommy Trautwein; and manager/guitarist Drew Beskin (Beskin has put out several records on his own, including the stellar Problematic For The People). Stupid Soul does a great job mining both the personal and the universal, combining heavy topics with some of life’s breezier moments for a deeply enjoyable experience.
