Johnny Foreigner - Eyes Wide Terrified

Newsflash! Someone’s shot Stephen Malkmus. It’s not in the news, it’s not even made Pitchfork yet, but we’re confident it’s true. How else could Johnny Foreigner be channeling the spirit of Pavement quite as effectively as they are in the opening gambits of ‘Eyes Wide Terrified’?



Of course, all talk of such things is firmly expected when describing Birmingham’s best-export-full-stop; best get Cap’n Jazz in there too, just in case. This is in no way generic, though. Switching from melancholic melody to a crunching, yelping chorus with criminal ease, it’s only the sheer tightness of their guttural punch that belies Johnny Foreigner’s early 90s slacker-pop stylings. By the time the guitars cut out, replaced by a full on ensemble vocal that puts goosebumps on goosebumps, there’s no denying there’s a touch of genius in the mix too.



Genre bending, photocopied masterpieces that were born to live in the back of a tour van are all too rare in an era of pro-tools and overpolishing, and yet here the character that shines through like the product of some kind of all star day-glo ‘zine poster group. Maybe that’s exactly what JoFo are. Pass the blu tack, yeah?