Music: Isaac Johnson: A Place in the Sun

Our Take

For a small label, Vital Recordings has sure made some smart signing decisions. Last year they released the EP for Texture which was an excellent listen, and now the label has released singer/songwriter Isaac Johnson's debut CD, A Place in the Sun. Although it is only six tracks, this disc is definitely worth checking out, especially for fans of acoustic music.

Three of the six songs on this release are up-tempo tracks, while the rest are purely acoustic and mellow. Although Isaac seems to put an emphasis on acoustic work, this release shows that he could really have success going in either direction. The acoustic tracks are very well done, thanks to the fact that Isaac has a great voice that is full of melody. Even better is the fact that his voice sounds completely different from everything else on the market right now. While the majority of acoustic style artists are able to be lumped into the "emo" or "indie" categories, Isaac Johnson's voice puts him more in the traditional rock/alternative category, one that needs to and hopefully will make a comeback in the mainstream.

Once the tempo kicks up a notch, A Place in the Sun still continues to impress. The songs are pretty light, and "Foot in Mouth" has an almost Dave Matthews vibe to it. There is a definite alternative rock style vibe to these songs, and each of these tracks could easily gain radio airplay. In fact, in the future Isaac Johnson could probably pull a Conor Oberst type deal and release both an acoustic and up-tempo album successfully.

Vital Recordings has yet to release a proper "full length", as both the Texture and Isaac Johnson releases have been short but sweet. A Place in the Sun continues this tradition, as it shows an artist who can pull off upbeat alternative rock tracks and down-tempo acoustic tracks with relative ease. The alternative rock circuit has been waning in recent years thanks to plenty of new trends in the music industry, but artists such as Isaac Johnson will hopefully get it going again.

http://www.vitalrecordings.com/

Chris Dahlberg
February 08, 2007