Jason Johnson – Pseudocide

Jason Johnson – Pseudocide / 2007 Self / 4 Tracks / [email protected] /

This disc starts out with “Leaving”, which is a tinny little track that has an earlier set of influences to it. I mean, it sounds as if Johnson is pulling from the pre-electric Dylan days more than anything, but this could just be because Johnson wasn’t able to grab an electric. In all seriousness, there is a set of vocals that come forth as the child of an early Dylan and Neil Young, with a guitar that sounds more like Tiny Tim’s ukulele than anything. “Here To Stay” is the second track, and immediately individuals can hear that the guitar is brought back into its normal realm of sound. The brooding nature of the guitar during this track shows that Johnson is influenced by the grunge movement, even as the vocals are more of a “I Respect Your Feelings As A Woman and As A Human”-era Anal Cunt.

More than just describing the tracks, my most major criticism of the tracks on “Psuedocide” is the fact that Johnson arranges around a pint, rather than a range of points. This means that the compositions on a track do not vary enough, making a three and a half minute track sound considerably longer. “Like A Tike” is the third track, and it begins to deviate from the formula that has crafted previous tracks. Johnson is able to create sounds that sound interesting at first blush,  but I feel as if the inclusion of a secondary instrument (as is the case during the guitar/synth dynamic during “Like A Tike”) is essential for Johnson to succeed on subsequent recordings. Also,  perhaps taking different vocal tacks will keep things interesting and will likely allow Johnson to keep individuals interested throughout a full length recording. Interesting, and I would like to see where Johnson goes from here.

Top Track: Like A Tike

Rating: 5.5/10