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Album Details

• Artist: Will Johnson
• Album: Vultures Await
• Label: Misra
• Year of Release: 2004
• ME Rating:
• Reviewed by: dscanland on 2005-02-09

When an artist like Will Johnson steps out from behind his band you have to wonder what direction they might go. With Johnson he even gets further into the dark Americana behind Centro-Matic and really gets emotional on us. The end result is a fairly strong album of songs that can't help but feel personal. Personal in presentation, personal in content, Will is indeed a songwriting expert in a class boasting very few. There were times when I hated Vultures Await and others when I thought these songs were some of the most brilliant songs ever penned. It all had to do with the mood I was in while listening as well as the time of day. I found that WIl's songs really rang better the later the evening was so I chose to do this review at about 11 in the evening. The somber feeling in the songs eventually won my heart and Will proves to me that he is totally the leader in the brilliant Centro-Matic. There are the odd songs that pick it up a little such as "Closing Down My House". The rest just ooze of loneliness and heartache, the recipe for a great country track. Another great thing with Vultures Await is there is very little instrumentation. We do get piano accompaniment on a few songs but even then the arrangements are sparse ("Your Bulldozer"). I do hear a lot of Bruce Springsteen's Nebraska influence here (especially the vocal effect on "Nothin But Godzilla"). But really, if there is anyone singing this type of music today, they are very much indebted to The Boss. I don't think that you will find any Centro-matic albums getting this close and personal to Will Johnson. That's a good thing. Leave the band for his fuller arrangements and let the vultures get him while he's on his own.

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