Eclectic indie rock featuring driving electric and tasteful acoustic guitars surrounding melodic, eloquent lyrics.

Poised to release his debut album Any Resemblance, singer-songwriter Carl Johnson had just one lingering question: How did we get here?
Carl first picked up a guitar with no intention of ever singing. After learning a few chords, he

Eclectic indie rock featuring driving electric and tasteful acoustic guitars surrounding melodic, eloquent lyrics.

Poised to release his debut album Any Resemblance, singer-songwriter Carl Johnson had just one lingering question: How did we get here?
Carl first picked up a guitar with no intention of ever singing. After learning a few chords, he began playing in a church. Briefly taking lessons from the youth group electric guitarist, those gateway blues licks led to the harder stuff. Joining an alternative band in high school introduced him to playing live, recording and occasionally women. Eventually he was dismissed from the church music team due to inappropriate lifestyle and unrepentant attitude. It would be college bands in Peoria, IL that truly shaped Carl’s musical personality. Continuing to play lead electric in basement shows and school functions, he was drawn to the lyrics of his friends and began writing his own songs.
After playing numerous venues around Chicago with various groups, Carl formed the short-lived Last Year’s Winners as a vehicle for his original tunes. They recorded their first EP in 2014 with Third Interval Music before calling it quits. Continuing to write and perform solo, a new album began to take shape. After repeated false starts, Carl and longtime collaborator Zach Dresser returned to Third Interval to record the now full length album.
Any Resemblance (to persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental) is a collection of intensely personal songs written over the course of a decade. Tales of love and longing give way to regret and ultimately acceptance. These are songs about growing up. Musically the album is as diverse as its themes, from finger picked acoustic to walls of electric guitar, all held together by Zach’s indelible drumming.