We recently featured Noel Johnson (NDJ) as he took us on an astral trip with his powerful and profound single, Buy the Ticket, Take the Ride, so when we heard that the conscious artist had just released the brand new, So Serious, we couldn’t wait to experience it!
Released on the spiritually aligned date of 11/11, So Serious opens with a luscious, reverberating synthscape with a bold and dimensional melody, before Noel Johnson (NDJ) sings the lyrics, “So serious, I can’t get enough, I can’t get enough, I’m too serious… I lost my money, I lost my mind, and wasted all this time, and now I’ll never get it back…”
We are immediately drawn in by his vulnerability, and the looped way in which he delivers the opening vocals. Speaking on the release, NDJ confesses that So Serious is “a bombastic tale of betrayal and self reflection.”
The talented artist references musical inspirations such as Post Malone, Queen, and The Beach Boys, and we feel that come through in the soundscape and power pop vibe that is creates, but there is no doubt that what Noel Johnson (NDJ) is delivering is unique to his own brand of authentic artistry.
The artist from Birmingham, Alabama, who has also spent a fair amount of time in South America tells us that the opus is “was inspired by the self-reflection induced by getting scammed out of a large amount of money…”
Quite a serious issue in society of late, it is certainly very honest and takes a lot of courage to address situations like this, especially through music, for which we are grateful to NDJ.
We are obsessed with the high choral vocals, and echo details in the production that add that ethereal sense of dimensionality to the piece. We can really imagine this doing well with synch deals as the song takes us on a journey that could be reminiscent of a movie or TV show.
Noel Johnson (NDJ) leaves us with a powerful quote, as he says, “If you’re searching for your humanity in this dark world, you might see a familiar face – like a child of God -when you see me.” We appreciate the self-awareness in his artistry and how is cognisant of the God energy that flows through his being.
We have added So Serious to our New Music Spotlight playlist, whilst we continue to stream Buy the Ticket, Take the Ride along with Noel Johnson (NDJ)‘s wider discography!