Jonny Craig - "A Dream Is A Question..."

[Say Anything]

Jonny Craig (Alternative/Acoustic)​

I'm going to begin by saying that I've got serious bro-love for Jonny Craig. I first heard of the guy when he began his run with post-hardcore/screamo band "Dance Gavin Dance" and have subsequently followed him to his new band "Emarosa". I appreciate the music of any band he's in just because I believe he has one of the greatest voices I've ever heard from anyone.

Needless to say, I've been waiting with great, great anticipation for this album since it was first announced months prior. Jonny stated he was recording a solo-album as a side-project with Rise Records as his label, but that's about all we heard until four weeks ago. He's shown his voice can be very versatile, doing guest vocals for an assortment of bands of many different colors and flavors. Fans of Emarosa and old Dance Gavin Dance alike were more than ready for a solo effort from Jonny.

The album is entitled "A Dream Is A Question You Don't Know How To Answer". It contains ten tracks and has a run time of 33 minutes. Songs focus largely on Jonny's vocals and an acoustic guitar, though each song has a variety of instruments to keep the music interesting.
The disc starts with the song "So Many of Us Hide Our Black Hearts", an unfortunate negative for the tracks yet to come. The sound is rough, Jonny's vocals are off, and it comes off as unfitting for a Jonny Craig track. This poor start is identically recreated with another "filler" song on track eight, which runs two minutes and just doesn't seem like something Jonny Craig would do.

Suffer past the minute-long intro track to hear "Istillfeelher Part III", a song that shows Jonny's true style. Jonny's smooth vocals are combined with an equally soothing melody, accentuating Jonny's powerful voice and telling a story of an old lover or dear one. The ride doesn't stop with the next track, "What I Would Give To Be An Australian", and continues all the way to track five, "7 AM, 2 Bottles, and the Wrong Road". Jonny doesn't throw any curveballs with these songs: admittedly, some tracks sound similar, but there's plenty of differences from track to track to keep you interested and excited for many playthroughs.

Children of Divorce​

Track six is where I was blown away. "The Garbage Pail Kid Gang Bang", as strange and disturbing of a title as it is, is an excellent track. Jonny's vocals are catchy and slick, the guitar is funky, and Jonny repeats "Before you open your mouth, let me make it clear: I can't be brought down while I stand so high...where's the lesson in this?". It's an amazingly constructed song, and one that's going to be put on repeat for some time to come.

Track seven and nine are much like two through five: great music, though nothing that'll make a blind man see again. The album closes with the song "Children of Divorce", one of the greatest pieces I've ever had the pleasure to listen to. Jonny is much more serious and distraught, and the song seems like something he really feels emotionally attached to. It's a song of a couple who became a pair too fast, only to realize they didn't really love eachother after they create a child. Jonny sings, "Sadly enough, this song's not to hurt you, just to show the world that I'm free." It's beautiful, and the song alone is worth the $12.00 CD pricetag.

Recommendation: Buy it.

 

[NewClassic_v1legacy]

I hesitate to really comment terribly on this, because music is such a taste-driven thing. What you find as a beautiful piece, to me, oddly downtrodden and resigning. The acoustic is light, the vocals are almost muted, and I feel like he had just resigned himself to finishing the album. That's the beauty of tastes, I suppose, but it's not something I feel like I can reflect on from a well-grounded standpoint.

The writing itself feels a little too love-struck, and it comes out as pretty praising for most tracks, and very critical on the opening track. I felt like every bit of praise was standard, almost like to suggest anything else would be unrealistic. The entire undercurrent of the review seemed to suggest that it simply would be good, for no reason other than it's Johnny Craig.

Otherwise, it's written well enough to coast the eyes from beginning to end. It does come off as very praising though. If anything, my only suggestion is pay more attention to the other elements. There are songs on this album that feature some pretty interesting instruments, so focus on those as well as Johnny and the guitar.

Anyway, hope that's helped. Warmest regards,
Nuke

 

[Say Anything]

I hesitate to really comment terribly on this, because music is such a taste-driven thing. What you find as a beautiful piece, to me, oddly downtrodden and resigning. The acoustic is light, the vocals are almost muted, and I feel like he had just resigned himself to finishing the album. That's the beauty of tastes, I suppose, but it's not something I feel like I can reflect on from a well-grounded standpoint.

The writing itself feels a little too love-struck, and it comes out as pretty praising for most tracks, and very critical on the opening track. I felt like every bit of praise was standard, almost like to suggest anything else would be unrealistic. The entire undercurrent of the review seemed to suggest that it simply would be good, for no reason other than it's Johnny Craig.

Otherwise, it's written well enough to coast the eyes from beginning to end. It does come off as very praising though. If anything, my only suggestion is pay more attention to the other elements. There are songs on this album that feature some pretty interesting instruments, so focus on those as well as Johnny and the guitar.

Anyway, hope that's helped. Warmest regards,
Nuke

I understand that music is much less straightforward as compared to, say, a video game, and that's where trouble sort of stems from when someone (especially myself) attempts to review it for other's ears. It's almost our job to tell the reader what they should think.

The problem I had here was that four weeks ago I made a promise to myself to review this album with no bullshit (because I was so interested in it and admittedly Jonny) and I really, honestly loved it. I hesitate to review old bands that I listen to, mainly because a good majority of the artists on my iTunes playlists have been there for quite some time now, and those who I do not listen to are often kicked off the list. I'm going to attempt sometime within the next day or two to get up a review of a band that I've just discovered that I think could be better if they only tried some different stuff. Hopefully, my writing won't seem like a copy of this one and will take a different approach with my opinions.