The term “singer-songwriter” has somehow become a genre in its own right, and it usually suggests the sound of an acoustic guitar and a voice, one generally belonging to a 19-year-old gap year troubadour or punk-pop six-string thrashing wannabe. But any honest songwriter in this field understands that what you add to the core sound, what genres you visit, and what sounds and sonics you imbibe along the way that make your overall sound stand out. This, after all, is your sonic personality. Not only does Chrissy Johnson understand this, but she also has an incredible sonic personality.
Shake Where You’re Steady is her second album, and it is fantastic. It is the sound of someone building all manner of sonic architecture, ushering in all sorts of associated sounds, onto that sparse singer-songwriter platform.
Opener, “Greatest Abandon,” is swathed in additional guitars, the dynamic rising and falling with the beat, a song that extols the virtues and vulnerability of letting yourself submit to love, instantly and wholeheartedly. “It Takes Imagination To Survive” is sung from the other end of a relationship and jangles with pop-folk infectiousness, while “Backwater Blues” is a slice of spacious pop-rock understatement with blues dripping from every word.
Chrissy Johnson understands all too well that the term “singer-songwriter” is just the sign on the office door, a coat rack to hang sonic layers on, the real art is to fill that sound with life and love and longing and, occasionally, loss. Heart and soul. Honesty, authenticity and occasionally, vulnerability. Shake Where You’re Steady is the sound of that in action.
Discover more from Dancing About Architecture
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
