Alexz Johnson Island

Alexz’s new album “A Stranger Time” releases September 1st! Check out this article from the Huffington Post about Alexz and the making of the album!

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Alexz Johnson’s A Stranger Time is Here
by Kenyth Mogan, Contributor

One thing you should know about me: whenever I’m worried or scared, or I just need an escape from the world around me, I like to put on my headphones, close my eyes, and lose myself in music. There are times where the only thing standing between me and a total meltdown seems to be the pair of earbuds firmly wedged into my ears, like some futuristic audible armor, keeping me safely removed from all of the disturbing things happening in the world today.

But my headphones are only able to do their job if they’re playing the right songs. When it comes to music, my palette is somewhat eclectic, but the list of artists whose music can pull me out of those extra dark crevices I sometimes find myself in is short. A few 80s pop queens that I still love without shame … and a talented singer / songwriter from Canada, Alexz Johnson.

Alexz has that “something special.” There is a conviction to her vocals — a kind of realness that seems to be missing from much of today’s pop music. She sings from her soul and instead of insisting on the autotuned, engineered (supposedly flawless) sound so many artists have fallen for in recent years, she embraces the little imperfections in her voice; because they only add to the texture and richness of her sound.

With her latest album, aptly titled A Stranger Time, Johnson opens up her soul and allows the listener to step into her thoughts. “The album acts as a stamp of this specific time in not only my, life but I’m sure in the lives of many others, too,” she says.

The album’s first single, “Right Now,” released in July, features lyrics like “You think you’re safe behind a passport / you were shaking in the airport line / Telling stories you were hearing / you can’t deny someone could lose their mind/ lose their mind.”

Lose their mind … I couldn’t agree more.

But It’s not all political. The album also features some truly poignant and beautiful moments as well. “Careless,” the album’s second track offers several of those moments. “It was a song I had from a few years ago,” Johnson reflects. “It’s always been one of my favorite songs for personal reasons. Well, I guess not so personal because you can hear the story in the lyrics. It never really fit on my previous albums & ep’s. I knew it’d find a home one day.”

“Aftermath,” is a song about the mistakes we make in life and how they can effect us later on, offering a tragically relatable connection with the listener. “That song came to me by observing not only other’s choices, but also my own,” she revealed. “There’s so many similarities between us all. One thing we certainly have in common is, unfortunately, regret. But there’s some beauty in that too if you accept it.”

Even now, I find myself easily getting lost in the tracks of A Stranger Time. There’s something in every song I find myself connecting with. The tracks trigger memories, which in turn provoke emotions — sparking even more memories; and that ability to truly impact the listener is an increasingly rare commodity in today’s music. “It’s the most “chill” album I’ve done, in my opinion.” says Johnson. “It’s a record you can put on in the kitchen while you’re making dinner, or swinging in your porch chair outside with a glass of wine. I hope it’s an experience.”

“I was just waiting for the right time and the kismet situation when it came to recording it,” she continues. “I wanted to do something with a live, off-the-floor vibe; something timeless and imperfect like the albums I’d been listening too — Marianne Faithfull, Murray Head, Bonnie Raitt. I was in Brooklyn when Mark Howard’s rep reached out. I guess he had discovered me via a live performance of “Let ‘Em Eat Cake,” from my previous album. I am a pretty big fan of Mark’s work. We connected on a call and it was pretty clear we had a similar vision of the record I was hoping to make. We arranged the band and location to record and the rest was history.”

A Stranger Time is scheduled for official released on September 1st, and is currently available for pre-order on major online retailers like iTunes and Amazon, as well as through Johnson’s personal website shopalexzjohnson.com/store.

Rest assured Alexz. A Stranger Time is definitely an experience. A beautiful one.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, August 30th, 2017 at 3:16 pm and is filed under News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.