Album Review

Harry George Johns – Post-Breakdown Blues

• 5th Feb 2013

If you’re looking for something cheerful and uplifting then Harry George Johns isn’t the man you should be listening to. But if angst filled songs with some of the most personal lyrics you will ever find are your thing then the Leeds based singer songwriter is definitely your man. His own description of the events leading up to this six song mini-album sums it up pretty succinctly:

“Winter 2011. Had an actual breakdown. Homeless, jobless, girlfriendless. Slept on my friends’ sofas and borrowed food and microphones. Made Post-Breakdown Blues …”

Johns’ songwriting has the feeling of catharsis, a man wrestling with his demons by writing about them. It’s definitely not easy listening, but the pain and despair comes through so strongly that it is impossible not to be moved. Backed mainly by just an acoustic guitar the musical accompaniment to his emotional and genuine vocals is suitably stark.

I Drunk Myself To Sleep sets the tone, a slow lament to lost love that develops into an anguished railing against the fates that have conspired against him. Getting drunk simply seems like the only thing left. All You Can Do has a simpler feel, an acoustic declaration of love and the fervent hope that the feeling is reciprocated. It’s a real heart on the sleeve statement of open passion.

Tie Your Own Noose is a dark country song, full of bottleneck guitar and high pitched and passionate vocal stylings. It’s powerfully delivered, but the vocals tend towards shouting in places, losing the understated effect that Johns achieves in much of this album. Sleep Is The Cousin Of Death has a more upbeat feel, the beginning of a realisation that growth can come through trauma. There is an optimism that he can survive and move on.

Morning Song is perhaps the pick of the vocal performances here, another declaration of love, but this time in an “I’ll wait for you forever” sense. He has lost his love to another but will not let go. The track is bittersweet yet there is also a purity in the emotion that it captures. Hospital Blues is a lovely closer with a similar theme, as Johns serenades his former lover while simultaneously assuring her that he will be alright. It could sound manipulative yet he manages to pull it off in an honest fashion.

Harry George Johns is undoubtedly a skilled songwriter and has used his own experiences to create something heartfelt and real. The fact that he has managed to do so without descending into self pity is remarkable. Johns has survived the ordeal and looks to move forward. But even in the optimism that hints at an eventual reconciliation and a happy ending, there is a lingering fear that he might just be heading for disappointment.

Venue: Post-Breakdown Blues
Support Band: download