Hey Start-Track reader, can I regale you with a sentimental anecdote about my developing mindset over the past twenty years of my life, and tie it to Lonesome Rhodes’ new record Red River Rain? “Eh, Will, not right now, I’m sorta busy and I’ve got other things to worry about in the world than your personal growth.” Well, too bad! You clicked on this article. Caveat lector, mi amice.
When I was a young buck, I always dreamed of a life of great adventures, non-stop travel, general vagrancy, and the joys of living as a free spirit, with no finances or property or emotional baggage to tether me. Now I am old. Not old, per se, but to quote They Might Be Giants, I’m older than I’ve ever and now I’m even older. And I find that these things make me the most happy: A well-paying job where I have purpose, a partner from whom I can provide and who provides for me, a roof over my head, and friends who are both geographically and emotionally close. I understand my privilege in having these things, of which I am incredibly grateful. Fifteen-year-old Will would have looked at me and said “You are supremely lame”, and my thirty-something-year-old ass would have told him, “Respect your elders, you loudmouthed rapscallion. Now go get your grandfather some chocolate-covered pretzels.”
Anyway, this long-winded introduction to the article is exactly the mindset of Kevin Johnson, the mind behind the songwriting project Lonesome Rhodes. The Austin-based musician began writing under the moniker in 2018, infusing his songs with electric piano sparkle and an indie pop song balancing on the wires between early John Mayer, peak Noah Kahan, and – for the real indie heads – Del Water Gap and Meltt. Now, his new and third album Red River Rain shimmers with both musical and spiritual bliss, blending introspective and vibrant lyrics with tunes full of sentiment and just a little bit of funkiness.
Johnson wrote the songs on Red River Rain on the occasion of entering his 30s in a good spot, feeling content in his marriage and beginning parenthood. But of course, the rough comes with the smooth, and therefore Johnson used his music to channel fears about leaving younger years far behind and becoming a “real” adult. Like me, Johnson once yearned for adventure, but now finds that he only wants to be home with his partner. The title Red River Rain reflects that dichotomy between wanting to escape and feeling content in one place: Red River is both a small getaway resort in the New Mexico mountains and the name of a street in Johnson’s home of Austin.
The main instrument of Johnson’s music – not surprisingly based on his pen name – is the piano, mostly of the electric variety. At times, Johnson slathers on a little well-salted effect such as chorus or reverb, which gives his tunes a touch of ’80s pop flavor. (“Hesitate” absolutely fits this vibe to a tee.) But the focus on the keys doesn’t take away from the heavy and great work of the other instruments, all of which contribute to the well-rounded soundscape that makes Red River Rain come alive. There’s a tight sound throughout the album, definitely ready for play on college radio or peak Internet stations.
I hate to name-drop Noah Kahan again, but Lonesome Rhodes sounds like Noah behind the keys instead of the guitar. (I don’t mean that in a “Stella Lefty stealing Stick Season” way, by the way.) Basically, if you like the styles of Mr. Kahan, Red River Rain will be right up your alley.
Notes about the songs, of which there are ten:
- “Absorbing”: The album’s opening track is a certifiable head-bopper with a slow-swinging beat. The drums and delay on the keys work like a clock, and the synths, guitars, and bass layer over them like a warm blanket. “Restore the reason to my faculties / Absorb the healing through my lack of ease”, sings Johnson, as if this song is a prayer to the muse for strength in self-reflection. It certainly sounds like one.
- “Fast Route”: The single from the record, and certainly one for a long road trip with your windows down. It’s a love song for sure, one that blends going on the adventure and wanting to be home. In the track, Johnson’s partner is his home, and wherever he goes, she’ll go with him. It’s one of many moments on the album where Johnson lets youth and maturity collide.
- “Emotional Hedge”: Bonus points for the line “The sky is aflame like a page in the Torah / Lighting the haze of the fauna and flora”. This song plays up the funk, but as a tool to amp up the anxiety provided by the minor key and flanging synth. Johnson sings about his trepidation over growing older here: “And every time I see the future flecked upon the ocean / Gone with the wave, the rules are set / I start to hedge with my emotion.”
- “New Low”: A little New Wave/vaporwave action in this track, in which Johnson plays up the song’s musical pathos to echo his high level of yearning. The adventure’s become too much in this track, and all he wants to do is get home to his place – and person – of safety and security. Big Peter Gabriel energy here, or – if you will – the vibe of Springsteen circa Human Touch. (Two-hundred percent convinced Bruce would crush this number.
- “Hesitate”: Those aforementioned keys do the work on this smooth and groovy dance number, which will get you moving even if the song is about executive dysfunction and anxiety. Let’s be honest, friends: If you can’t dance to a song about anxiety, you’re doing it wrong.
- “Sidewalks in Cities”: Another song blending adventure with home, this one captures Johnson and his partner stuck in the rain, underneath blinding city lights in a waltz-time ballad that could become some newlywed couple’s first dance song in a pinch: “Let’s go hiding on sidewalks in cities / Thunder, lightning, and you looking pretty / Let’s go hiding on sidewalks in cities / Under brightness I’ll guide like Ulysses”.
- “Would It Bother You”: Another barn-burner with Johnson singing to an unspecified party, asking if they’d get jealous because Johnson is happy with their life. Maybe this party is an old friend or lover, but I like to think it’s a younger, hungrier, and angstier Johnson sneering at his older self for settling down in favor of seeking adventure.
- “Shock Wave”: Another romantic track in the ’90s Springsteen vein, with Johnson singing again to his partner about how little moments can feel like massive meteorological events. Everything from good to bad feels charged up, passionate, and – like a thunderstorm – totally natural.
- “Red River Rain”: The title track evokes feelings of homecoming, atonement, and healing. I got shivers in the way that I did when I first heard U2’s The Unforgettable Fire back in my more formative years. On this track, Johnson helps us to escape to the Red River of New Mexico (“There’s a new scent of the mountain / I can taste it as we’re climbing by the Tooth of Time in snow”), but only temporarily: This is a place of renewal, not a new residence. Eventually, we’ll all have to return home.
- “Dawn Sun”: Growing from a calm piano exploration to a gripping coda, and echoing “Fast Route” in the ending piano riff, the album’s final track brings us home to the Red River of Austin, showing Johnson returning to his partner and family, to settling down, to adulthood. It’s a wonderful way to cap off the record, rife with sentiment.
I’m quite surprised this record hasn’t received more attention, as it’s very well-written, professionally produced, and cuts at the heart of anyone entering middle age feeling like the best years of their youth are still ahead of them. It certainly hit me where I live. I think Johnson as Lonesome Rhodes has crafted a perfect coming-of-age album for those exiting adolescence and young adulthood without coming off too hamfisted or plain.
This is a rich record full of real emotion, the work of someone ready to enter into the next period of their life, thankful for everything they went through before it, but knowing there are ways to bring the youthfulness and the adventure along for the ride. That ride just might be around the neighborhood or to the grocery store. But that’s part of the greater journey.
Take a listen to “Fast Route” from Red River Rain below.
Written by Will Sisskind
