Album Review – Addison Johnson’s “The State I’m In”

Traditional Country (#510) and Progressive Country (#564.5) on the Country DDS.

Addison Johnson knows his place in the country music world. The North Carolina native is used to seeing his name in the smaller letters on a marquee below the featured performer, and in the lowercase font on the festival poster with the other 3:00 pm acts. He knows he’s got something to prove, and has to work twice as hard as others for half the recognition. But he also believes in himself and his music, and puts it all out there in a career effort via his latest album The State I’m In.

Writing all the songs himself except for one co-write, Addison Johnson illustrates incredible breath and diversity of material, while keeping it all well within the greater country canon. Clever ideas and turns of phrase mixed with tasty and twangy instrumentation make for one fetching country song after another that is the perfect balance between familiar and accessible, and involved and thought-provoking. This is country music at an elevated level that belies Addison’s otherwise underdog status.

Sure, you have those simple, pithy traditional country songs that go down so easy like “Maybe I’m Lonely Too” and “Almost Over You Again,” reminding you of every great ol’ country song, only rendered in an original form. But then Johnson elevates his game and adds a bit more imagination to both the music and the writing. Talk about doing a twister on the classic murder ballad theme, Addison’s “F5” is imaginative and riveting storytelling at its finest.

To be honest, you get a little worried with how the albums starts off since the opening song “Run Them Roads” has a bit of a list-tastic thing going on, even if it’s balanced out with some Tyler Childers influence too. But the thing about being Addison Johnson is you can have a few more catchy and fun songs when you can chase then with stuff that goes deeper.

Addison captures a lot of moods, and stimulates a range of emotions in just 12 tracks. But if there’s one themes to The State I’m In, it’s addressing the state of his life as an independent country musician facing an onslaught of challenges that have never been greater. Instead of just whining though, Addison uses his challenges as inspiration for some of the album’s best songs. “Money Business” might present a bleak picture, but it’s also one hell of a clever and enjoyable song to listen to.

You don’t have to be a struggling musician to identify with “What’s Left of Me” about betting on and believing in yourself, even if the odds seem insurmountable, and even as the flexibility of youth begins to dwindle. “I Ain’t Livin'” is also an easily-identifiable sentiment about taking an honest assessment about a life stuck in a rut. “The State I’m In” deftly exploits double meanings with a head full of doubt, and makes for a worthy title track.

This album isn’t a masterpiece. “The Conspiracy Song” says a lot, but struggles to really say anything of meaning. And the hook of “Let Me Ask Ya, Alaska” is a tough one to bite on, making for a soft patch on the record. Yet when you listen to the recent albums from the likes of Cody Johnson and Luke Combs, you wonder if they know there’s great country songs out there like the ones Addison Johnson features on The State I’m In. Why can’t all country music try this hard, and assume the audience has an at least an average intelligence level and doesn’t need everything to be so easily digestible?

No matter how well life might or might not be going for you, it’s an eternal part of the human experience to always be measuring yourself against others, to feel like you’re falling a step behind the herd, that you’re just out of reach of your dreams, and that contentment remains elusively around the corner. But those struggles and that endless pursuit are part of the point. Though various sentiments and bouts of storytelling, Addison Johnson encapsulates these ever-present feelings in the full-bodied listening experience of The State I’m In.

8.4/10

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Stream on Spotify