Elijah Johnston - Stupid Soul (CD, Signed)

Stupid Soul is either Elijah Johnston’s 4th record or his 7th, depending on who you ask, but possibly the first you’ve heard. The logical next step in a career of slow burns, Stupid Soul is neither a record of morose self-reflection nor a frenetic series of genre experiments, settling into a comfortable steady pace: a record built to fit like a glove. Performed by a small team including Johnston’s brother, manager, and long-time producer, the record is full of small wonders and live band energy, the sound of four close-knit collaborators in pursuit of something timeless. 12-string acoustic guitars, vintage synthesizers, and a relentless belief in the guitar solo round out Johnston’s usual pop rock palate, and the team manages to make a coherent picture out of a mood board that takes just as many cues from Brian Wilson as it does from The Legend of Zelda. But you don’t need a syllabus for this, and you don’t need a reference sheet — you just need the songs. They’ll speak for themselves.

1 Leonard
2 Ideas
3 Keep it to Yourself
4 Baby Bands
5 Oxygen
6 I Know What You Did Last Summer
7 Days Like These
8 Instant Replay
9 Everything We Hold Dear
10 Valentine’s Day
11 Double Fault
12 Football Season