James Johnston 

“It felt right, and when that happens, you just go with it,” says James Johnston of his decision to record The Starless Room, his unexpectedly sumptuous, long-awaited, debut solo album after three decades of being the front man of Gallon Drunk. The result is a revelation, and not just for Johnston. Vast in its scope, visceral, intimate and instinctive – “I just followed whatever triggered an emotional response in me” – The Starless Room represents a remarkable distillation of both his lyrical obsessions and talent. For Johnston, however, the greatest pleasure of all is a simple one: the songs’ slow tempos, “something I adore, like a lot of the Isaac Hayes or Ray Charles albums that I love. It almost feels like I’m listening to someone else’s record.” But it’s not. It’s James Johnston’s solo album, The Starless Room. Like he said, it feels just right.