Judah Johnson
Be Where I Be
Flameshovel
By David Barker
Swathed in exploratory ambiences and wintry vocals, the second LP from Detroit natives Judah Johnson is chilly and invigorating, austere and serene, and worthy of all adjectives that conjure an image of the sun rising from its clouded depths to hover over the barrenness that must be rural Michigan’s winters.
Be Where I Be follows up 2003’s debut Kisses and Interrogation, both from Chicago’s Flameshovel label. Nominal in its guitar work and varied electronic assistance, the album relies most on Daniel Johnson’s cool vocal delivery, which may or may not bring the band some U2 comparisons.
“Little Sounds” is sparkling with synthesizers and Daniel’s crystal-clear singing, the drums a barrage of cymbals and toms. “Jukebox Heartache” reigns in the space-pop tendencies for something a little more engaging and melodic, though lyrically it could have almost been plucked from the pop charts: “my life’s an empty diner/but there is nothing finer”, “I might be crazy, but I know what I’ve done,” and all that rhyming for the sake of rhyming schlock. “Star Struck” picks up the slack, finding Judah Johnson slowly driving a heavy, post-grunge rhythm and Daniel’s vocals sparring with the melody for the spotlight. “Tommi (Tears in a Bottle)” rallies around creepy, ominous synth in some sort of theater-goth gone electro manner. “False Spring, Honest Rendering” is pretty in a Postal Service kind of way, with cute little R2D2-like bleeps cropping up in the slack atmosphere.
During its tenure, Be Where I Be sounds like the equivalent of a winter sunrise, but if you’re living in a cold climate, those sunrises lose their effect on you after a while, regardless of beauty.
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