Hard II Impersonate

Johnstonsons are Detroit duo John River and Stonny Moon, lifelong friends who spent three years working out exactly what kind of band they wanted to be. Their debut LP for à La Carte Records, Hard II Impersonate, turns that sense of discovery into part of its pull.

The title says plenty. River and Moon made two full records’ worth of material before scrapping both, twice, whenever the songs felt too close to someone else’s voice. This third version is the one that passed the test: direct, vulnerable, and unmistakably their own.

There are shades of Tears for Fears, Talk Talk, and Body of Light in the mix, but Hard II Impersonate stands on its own. Guitars lift without showing off, synths breathe, and the hooks arrive early and stay put.