“Bright Early Thursday Morning,” the new one from Johnny Stanec, chimes with so many familiar and iconic sounds, not because it is merely copying what has gone before, but because he seems to understand what makes a song stand out from the pack and so drinks at the same well as so many classic artists. To this end, he has woven so many deft sonic moves and timeless elements through the single that it sounds like you have been listening to it for half your life or more. And that, after all, is one definition of a classic.
The main riff chimes with the distant echo of Don Henley’s majestic “Boys of Summer,” runs on a shimmering heartland-rock groove but remains eminently pop-aware, able to appeal to mainstream pop-picker and discerning music fans alike.
And there is a lightness and buoyancy that comes from careful editing. This is a song that allows itself space—space to breathe, space for the sonic light to filter through, space for all manner of atmospheres and anticipations to pool and percolate. The perfect vibe for a song about new beginnings, self-reflection and acceptance.
But we already know this is an artist with a tasteful, creative touch from previous singles. “Gas Panic” was similarly spacious, blending understatement with a sense of melancholy, “No Way Down” bridged the folk-pop divide, ticking all the right boxes in both worlds, and “In the Dark, In the Clouds, In The Rain” from last year’s A Linear History took the idea of less is more to some wonderfully creative extremes.
Singer-songwriters are ubiquitous these days, but few are making music anywhere as elegant and sonically eloquent as Johnny Stanec. Definitely an artist that you need to follow with keen interest.
Website
Facebook
Bandcamp
YouTube
Instagram
