Duquette Johnston - “Crazy to Believe"

SXSW 2020 - OEB Score: 7; Popularity Index: 2

Pairs Well With…Jim James, Phosphorescent, Sturgill Simpson

Birmingham, Alabama singer-songwriter Duquette Johnston melds breezy pop and swampy Southern rock on his 2019 record Etowah, a DIY-edged record of Americana ballads and ramblers. Johnston’s invitation of garage rock (“Oh 19!”), classic R&B (“Babies and Diamonds”), and lonely ambience (“Golden Son”) gives Etowah’s generally pastoral folk settings balance and life, extending beyond alt country landscapes to a personal, bedroom-rock vibe. (Kevin McStravick)

2017 Review: Duquette Johnston is working up his third full-length for release sometime this year, what will imaginably be an evolution from the lush, psychedelic folk strength of 2013 full-length Rabbit Runs a Destiny. That record takes Americana themes and moods, then throws them into a spacey, hypnotic lake. The even mix of alt country and psych rock give Johnston’s songs consistent threads, but allow for exploration too, just always around a common core. His songwriting follows suit, heavily grounded in known traditions, but willing to get abstract on a dime.