Ray Johnson's album "WaterColors" is a canvas of love, loss, and learning painted with the colours of human emotions

Illinois-based singer-songwriter Ray Johnson has been writing and performing songs for several years now and has a catalogue of nearly 100 tracks. His style is a combination of jangly pop elements of the 1960s and the lyrical style of the 1970s; honestly, a very unique structure which I personally haven't come across yet.

Johnson's songwriting consists of a lot of imagery and metaphors, making it more of a storytelling experience rather than just listening to some songs. His work also spans across multiple genres like soft acoustic ballads, rock, and even folk pieces.

Johnson's album, "Watercolors", is musical journey through various human emotions with each song exploring feelings of love, loss, yearning, self-worth and more. Each lyrics, each instrument used in this album contributes to the theme of the song. It truly feels like an immersive experience with no note, no pitch out of place. The album is like a blank canvas and every song adds a different hue

of emotions to it, painting a picture that each of us can resonate with.

The album opens with two songs that musically flow the same, "Be Still My Heart", and "Eternally Blue". "Be Still My Heart" is a romance song with the old guitar tunes. It's soft, slow with perfect rustic vocals. While the first one speaks of love, "Eternally Blue" on the other hand is all about loss. The lyrics are about the regret that plagues us when we've let someone good go.

"Heart Shaped World", the third track is also very gentle. It has a very soft, indie-folk vibe to it. The warm vocals go well with the vibe of this track. It was so soothing it made me feel calm, and held.

"Water Colors", the title track, is warmer, brighter as compared to the previous ones. The lyrics go, "Watercolors on canvas, paint a brighter day. Taking in every color and mistakes along the way." This is exactly what this whole album is all about.

The fifth track is "Say My Name". There's a soft, almost muted sound of a hand-beaten drum in the background of this song,which is very subtle but I really liked. This track feels more rhythmic in nature, while still keeping its softness. "Jobo", the six track on the other hand is slightly more upbeat than the rest of them. It certainly made me sway along with it. "Music For the Soul", again has a classic indie tune that the artist has made their own. The vocal vibes are perfect for a track like this. And then moving on to "Play the Fool" which is more fun and playful musically. This one somehow feels like if clown music was made for a soft Christmas morning.

"Alibis" has to be my personal favorite. The music feels bright but the lyrics paint a sad picture of having lost faith in a person that you trusted with all of your heart. The defeated ache of betrayal is so clear in this one where you aren't even angry anymore. The lyrics say, "I don't need all the heartache that always comes with you." The album ends with "Ghosts" which feels like grief and love personified, a time shared together that was meant to be immortalised.

"WaterColors" is truly an album where each track is designed to be enjoyed individually while also experiencing the album wholistically. Perfect to enjoy on a quiet evening.

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