mon 30/12/2024

CD: Johnnyswim - Georgica Pond | reviews, news & interviews

CD: Johnnyswim - Georgica Pond

CD: Johnnyswim - Georgica Pond

This husband and wife duo share their uplifting love story in musical form

Johnnyswim: this Georgian husband and wife duo are about to make waves

If there's one thing I've learned from Nashville the TV show it's that the best musical collaborations can birth the most beautiful love stories.

Johnnyswim is the real life version of boy (Abner Ramirez) meets girl (Amanda Sudano) in Nashville Tennessee, who got together to collaborate back in 2005. They made beautiful music together, and ended up in love.

Their heady mix of American folk-pop, with soul and blues influences, comes together to make a sound that Callie Khouri would be proud of. They sing of summertime romances, being each other's lighthouse, getting it right on the first try, lonely nights in Georgia and saying goodnight. It's personal, touching and pleasantly hazy, like a soft, warm comfort blanket of sound.

Dipping in and out of different genres, there are beautiful honeydew melodies set to zinging up-tempo guitar in "Hummingbird", killer harmonies that give you goosebumps and feisty chorus repears in "Villains". There's a good amount of acoustic guitar, with rolling riffs that sound like sunrise in "Drunks". "Touching Heaven" is a lilting piano ballad, that houses shaking tambourines and a full gospel choir singing the refrain "You're my hallelujah" alongside heartmelting vocals featuring their baby son Joaquin at the end of the track. There's even a soft jazzy cover of Chris Isaak's Wicked Game, which is deeply pleasing in its vocal range, but "Let It Matter", is a rolling trip, and a personal favourite.

The duo's songwriting is sophisticated and mature, developed independently and never trying to fit a mould, whether commercial or niche. They've done good to stick to their own truth – these song hooks will stick around long after the track fades and you'll find yourself humming along to powerful, uplifting choruses and hitting repeat after the first listen.

@Katiecolombus

It's personal, touching and pleasantly hazy, like a soft, warm comfort blanket of sound

rating

Editor Rating: 
4
Average: 4 (1 vote)

Share this article

Add comment

The future of Arts Journalism

 

You can stop theartsdesk.com closing!

We urgently need financing to survive. Our fundraising drive has thus far raised £33,000 but we need to reach £100,000 or we will be forced to close. Please contribute here: https://gofund.me/c3f6033d

And if you can forward this information to anyone who might assist, we’d be grateful.

Subscribe to theartsdesk.com

Thank you for continuing to read our work on theartsdesk.com. For unlimited access to every article in its entirety, including our archive of more than 15,000 pieces, we're asking for £5 per month or £40 per year. We feel it's a very good deal, and hope you do too.

To take a subscription now simply click here.

And if you're looking for that extra gift for a friend or family member, why not treat them to a theartsdesk.com gift subscription?

newsletter

Get a weekly digest of our critical highlights in your inbox each Thursday!

Simply enter your email address in the box below

View previous newsletters