John Davis, John Davis

Yes, friends, the rumors are true. Indie-rock figurehead John Davis, formerly of Superdrag, has found God (rediscovered God, really, according to him) and now dedicates himself to praise music. I guess you could call that the bad news. What’s the good news, then? Well, the good news is that John’s new solo album doesn’t really sound all that far removed from the final Superdrag CD, 2002’s aptly titled Last Call for Vitriol. In fact, a couple of the tracks could have easily been on that album, most notably the fuzzed-out power-chord rave-up “Nothing Gets Me Down”, and the swinging, head-bop inducing “Salvation”. Even “Me and My Girl” would have fit in alongside “Baby Goes to Eleven”. In all actuality, the only major difference between most of John Davis’s and Superdrag’s recorded output (besides the fact that John plays almost every note on every instrument now) is the addition of a message of faith to the excellently written pop songs. I say “most” because at times the songs do get a little preachy (if that’s not what you’ve come to listen to in the first place), especially towards the end of the album. But hey, if an atheist, sacrilegious heathen like me can look past that and get into the music, then you can, too. The bottom line is that the songwriting is still great, and the message, while you may not necessarily agree with it, is at least a positive one, so if you can keep an open mind while listening, I would bet that you’d like John Davis. Honest to God.