Here’s the latest single from Youngstown singer-songwriter Johnny Stanec. ‘Shine On (That’s Just Life)’ features layers of guitar and tuneful keys over driving percussion. Stanec delivers thoughtful lines in an impassioned vocal that flies high in the anthemic choruses. In the accompanying video, Stanec walks alone through rundown city streets, contemplating life and its circle of repetitive existence. These images are interspersed with desert scenes, beautiful in their splendid isolation and adding to the reflective mood of the song.
The single is taken from the forthcoming album, ‘A Linear History’, which will be released on 23rd February 2024 – get your vinyl over on Bandcamp here. The songs cover the passage of time, love and loss; it’s the stuff of life, easy to relate to and to be absorbed in. Stanec himself suggests listening to the album while taking a long drive, becoming fully immersed in the words and themes and allowing yourself the opportunity to reminisce and reflect. He says of the new material: “In the last few years I lost a few people close to me, and that sort of shaped these songs. This life is finite, and it gave me the idea for the album title. In a way it is about death, but also the feeling of hope.” After a decade of touring and three previous albums under his belt, Stanec has honed his craft and delivers an engaging selection of folk-rock songs. Check it out.
