Saturday Spins: Tasjan! Tasjan! Tasjan!

Here at Saturday Spins, it is always a delight for me to introduce newer artists to the 3-5 people that read this. I meant to cover this week’s LP almost a month ago, but life, Sturgill Simpson, and last week’s soundtrack got in the way. This guy’s latest LP sounds like a Tom Petty-ELO love child in a good way. I have had it on constant rotation since it was released.

Aaron Lee Tasjan

Tasjan! Tasjan! Tasjan!

2021

When I first heard Aaron Lee Tasjan it was on a New West Records sampler. The song was “12 Bar Blues” which is really a drinking song, but follows the traditional 12 bar blues format. I made a note to discover more of his music at some other point. Well, New West must have broken the marketing budget for this newest album, because it was everywhere in musical adjacent places I frequented on the world wide web.

So, I decided to give more of his songs a listen. Particularly ones from this new LP. I’ll get to the music momentarily, but let us first discuss the excellent album art and the so-called “cloudburst” colored vinyl. First, you’ll notice that I sprung for the Bandcamp exclusive heavenly cloudburst LP. The second thing you’ll notice is the 80s art vibe. The sound follows suit.

Tasjan, who has a name that is impossible to pronounce, was once more of a country-rock, roots, and folk artist. His sound began to morph into a more pop-rock sound in 2018 with the album Karma for Cheap. The instant album expands on that and has endlessly catchy songs in the vein of Tom Petty, ELO, and The Traveling Wilburys. It’s no accident that my comparison contains the latter supergroup which featured the former two artists.

Aside from the cool vinyl design, the artwork is very 80s but with some future/space travel-themed motifs like the inner gatefold being Tasjan leaning up against what appears to be a BMW 3 Series altered to be a land speeder.

Track by Track

1. Sunday Women

The opening track comes at you with the chorus right out the gate with a 60sesque fun sound. It really is reminiscent of those mid 60s Beatles tracks with a bit of a bigger sound. It is a simple two verse song with that big chorus, but it will be stuck in your head for days.

2. Computer of Love

A very fun song about the perils of social media. It is light in balladry, but has some extremely substantive lyrics that are very clever and will make you think about your experience on a certain bird website…

Fake friends tweeting 2 cеnts
Just to mess with me
Such dangers on my screen

3. Up All Night

The first track with potentially, in my opinion, widespread appeal. It honestly sounds like a song Tom Petty would have written in the mid 90s. It also is a song that I think could be a centerpiece of this album, a hit single if you will. You’ll notice that the video for this song fits the theme of the above, and it is part of a trilogy of songs/videos released for this album. Marketing!

4. Another Lonely Day

After three upbeat bangers, the fourth track kind slows it down a bit with a quiet fingerpicked little diddy. It is not one of the biggest highlights on the album, but it does demonstrate some excellent and descriptive song writing.

5. Don’t Overthink It

The third song of the video trilogy is a groovy psychedelic jam with another big, big chorus that operates as another ear worm. The best part of this song is the outro solo, which is both mesmerizing and memorable.

6. Cartoon Music

One of the big themes of this album, and I think I mentioned this before, is the trappings of social media. This song is less direct commentary, and is a little out of place stylistically on the album, but it is definitely another sign with a message. The message is, don’t let your mind turn to mush digesting online stuff.

7. Feminine Walk

In the late 2000s, Tasjan was a touring member of The New York Dolls, one of the seminal punk rock bands of the early 1970s. Much of this track harkens back to a time period of the original lineup, but it also manages to cover Conway Twitty, dressing in drag, Spotify, drug use, and David Bowie in a short 3.5 minute jam.

8. Dada Bois

Another song that brings out some of that 60s sound. Many critics proclaimed that it sounds like early Kinks, and I am inclined to agree with them. In fact, when I first heard it on the ol Amazon Echo, I thought it was the Kinks!

9. Now You Know

One thing that can be said about this album, is that it is nearly impossible to classify. I feel as though I have described 4 or 5 different eras of music already, and this is another genre-bending song. A somewhat lighthearted and Paul McCartney in Wings melodic journey, I’d say this is a diamond in the rough on this album.

10. Not That Bad

If you scratch the surface of this song, you’ll find a bit of Tasjan’s Americana/roots past. The track has a very westerny roots feel with fast acoustic guitar and some eerie keys in the background. It is also another commentary on the loneliness most of us suffer living our lives connected to various devices.

Read the paper on my phone
And felt so all alone
As I found yet another feeling to ignore

11. Got What I Wanted

The last song is a slow tempo psychedelic jam that kind of plods along, but sounds very Harry Nilsson-esque to me. As far as codas go, I think it could have been expanded upon a bit. It clocks in at just over 2 minutes.