This piece of music is a fresh bit of raw indie, rock and blues, compiled in an energetic and unapologetically real manner, and it sounds fantastic.
The song itself just oozes the finely tuned finish of something that has taken the perfect amount of musical skill and fused it with an equal measure of unexpected originality. The track has a vintage sound in many ways, images of bar fights and high energy drunken dancing are likely to come to mind as you listen, but it’s also got a brilliant edge of something very new and now. It’s a brand new perspective, not concerned with opinion or reception, just written in a way that grabs your attention instantly, holds on to it for the entirety of the experience, makes you think, and makes you move your body without even realising – all within a fairly short period of time.
In terms of the writing, the song is superb – the whole thing has been masterfully structured, and as each section leads into the next, the verse to the pre-chorus, this to the hook, the hook to the instrumental – every line and every broken down melody that leads you through these tunnels is striking, each moment perfectly captures something that you’d otherwise never have heard or considered.
It’s storytelling at it’s finest, characters and all, and as a party piece it’s everything you could hope to hear on a loud and rowdy Friday night. It’s gritty, it’s funny, it’s poignant, it’s quirky, and clever. The hook will stay with you long after you’ve listened, and it’s highly likely that you’ll continue to make your way through the rest of Craig Johnstone’s recordings after hearing just this one.
What may appear to some as a novelty at first, is quickly proven to be something much more than this. The song has the rhythm and raw energy of punk rock. It has the voices of real people, a natural and effortless array of harmonies that help express and emphasise this very particular theme – in a beautifully juxtaposed manner. The song is a massive pleasure to stumble upon. There’s no holding back, and that goes for the music and the personality behind it all. An artist worth paying attention to.
Listen to more music on Craig Johnstone’s Website. Follow the artist on Facebook, Twitter and Soundcloud to stay in touch.
https://soundcloud.com/craig-johnstone-659720638/put-down-the-gun-jake
