Why JOHNNYSWIM’s Newest Album Is So Emotionally Raw
By Movieguide® Contributor
Abner and Amanda Ramirez are no strangers to writing emotionally charged songs, but their newest album as JOHNNYSWIM, which covers depression and chronic illness, is the most open-hearted music they have ever produced.
“This album started in a season where Abner was dealing with depression for the first time,” Amanda told Relevant. “And then as he was kind of healing from that, I started diving into a health journey where my health was deteriorating. There was a lot of fear and sadness and isolation.”
“One of the things we’ve learned, sometimes uncomfortably, is that we discover how we really feel about things when we write them down,” Abner added. “We don’t always have the words to process tragedy, triumph, trauma — the big Ts — until we write a song.”
While the couple knew this before writing this album, it was only affirmed by this work as they processed the difficulties they were walking through. Amanda was especially hit by the truth of this as she came to realize just how hard her chronic illness was only after writing a song about it.
READ MORE: JOHNNYSWIM AFFIRMS JESUS CHRIST AHEAD OF TELEVISION SHOW LAUNCH
“When we put [‘She Checks the Weather’] out, I thought, ‘I’ve done this before. I’ve released personal songs. This won’t be any different,’” Amanda said. “And then I found myself crying in a bathroom stall for 20 minutes.”
The lyrics of the songs are not the only part of the music that is raw. Abner and Amanda also chose to have every instrument be recorded for the album, rather than using pre-recorded, polished notes that could be used to create a cleaner sound.
“We wanted every sound to have a face,” Abner said. “It’s so easy now to make a song in an app, pull from a library of perfectly polished sounds. But we needed to be in the room with people. I needed to look them in the eye and say, ‘That. More of that…’ If we were going to be this vulnerable in the lyrics, the music had to match that. It had to feel human.”
JOHNNYSWIM’s new album “When The War Is Over” is now available.
“This album means so much to us because it represents a significant chapter in our lives,” the couple said when the announced the album last fall. “Both of us have been navigating our own emotional and physical health challenges over the last few years, and it’s a testament to that journey. In many ways, this album reflects our acceptance of the challenges we’ve faced, embracing the honesty we’ve always pursued in our songwriting. It’s for anyone who has faced their own battles—physical or emotional—and is looking for music to walk with them through it.”
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