Alexz Johnson - “Ain’t That The Way”

Photo by Jen Squires

We first fell in love with Alexz Johnson’s sound exactly one month ago, when she revealed “Hurt Me.” Today, we are pleased to inform you that she’s back on the blog with her latest release, “Ain’t That The Way.” And while the former was more of a piano driven ballad, this new one starts the listener off with an acoustic guitar atop the foundation of a steady beat.

If there’s one thing you can count on in this world, it’s that any Alexz Johnson song is going to completely kick ass in the vocal department. And once she begins to sing on “Ain’t That The Way,” the beat doubles in size, likely just to keep up with how full and rich her voice can be, but also adding a reasonably thunderous kick drum to let you know that this song means business.

The harmony vocals arrive at about thirty seconds into the track, along with some delicately placed plucks from a lead guitar, once again expanding the sonic space of the production. And just when you think the song has reached maximum capacity, the bass player shows up to prove otherwise– as the song steers into the refrain, if you close your eyes, you can just picture all of them smiling in the studio while listening back, knowing that Johnson has done it again.

Lucky listeners will soon realize that Johnson is the type of songwriter who understands the significance of the bridge– an unusual and rare phenomenon that many artists seem to forgo these days. The call and response that occurs here is truly fantastic and works extremely well with highlighting Johnson’s dynamics, control, and craft.

If you’ve been shopping around for a new favorite song that can work as the soundtrack to any number of life’s situations, wrap your ears around “Ain’t That The Way.”

-TM