Johnathan Rice
Further North
Reprise / Warner Brothers
By Kevin Hakansson
It ain't so bad being Johnathan Rice. He's got a famous, beautiful girlfriend (Rilo Kiley songstress Jenny Lewis) and he's done some high profile acting, portraying Roy Orbison in the Johnny Cash bio-pic Walk the Line. He's a relatively young dude, a few months shy of his 25th birthday. And to top it all off, his endearing brand of country-heavy pop rock is the toast of the town, lauded by, among others, tourmates R.E.M. Rice is living the life, and if Further North is any indication, he knows it.
Despite it's title, Further North has a distinctly southwestern feel to it. That's not exactly a fact that Rice hides, either. The record's first single is "We're All Stuck Out In the Desert," and it's got a rural New Mexico feel to it. While a glance at the lyrics suggest that this song isn't really about being stuck in the desert and is, rather, a metaphor for being powerless in a relationship, there's no debating what the song sounds like, in spite of what it actually means. Rice's backing band contributes distant, spacey guitar lines that have "110 degree heat" written all over them.
"The Middle of the Road" is the song where Rice comes closest to producing a straight-up country tune. This one's almost entirely acoustic, laid back and cheerful, all ingredients the city of Nashville would collectively be proud of. What gives Rice's take on a country a bit more credence is his voice; there's not even a hint of twang in it, which is, to be honest, quite settling.
Time after time, Rice builds off the general niceness of "The Middle of the Road" to become downright sweet. "It Couldn't Be Me" is a gorgeous ballad that seems to be a simultaneous love song/lament. It wouldn't be surprising to find out that this song is what made Lewis, who lays down a few vocal lines on the song, fall for Rice. Lewis pops up a few other times on Further North. "End of the Affair" is your textbook male/female back and forth, a he said/she said that Bat out of Hell-era Meat Loaf would approve of. Yes, Rice can write a pop tune, perhaps never better demonstrated than on "What am I Going To Do?," a song that sound like the Beatles started listening to an awful lot of Gram Parsons.
Rice displays some versatility with "THC." While this one still sounds heat stroke-induced, it's got a considerably different character than the likes of the generally cheery country-rock that populates the rest of the album. This one's quite bluesy, dark and distant. Plus, as can be deduced from the song's title, this tune sounds pretty damn drugged out.
Simply put, Johnathan Rice is an excellent songwriter. On his new record, there aren't a whole lot of bells and whistles, but at the same time, there's nary a misstep to be found. His girlfriend gives him a bit of extra star power, and while such an addition is certainly nice, it's not a necessity; it's pretty clear that Rice is more than capable of standing out all by himself.
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