Review Summary: From niche acapella to mainstream shanty stars, where there's smoke there's fire with The Longest Johns' latest
The Longest Johns are a British acapella folk group from Bristol that's been recording music together since 2013. For a little while the Johns went viral, riding the wave of TikTok's sea shanty craze off their version of Wellerman, a song that was so disproportionately big it worried a lot of us that it'd make a one-hit wonder of the group. But they've held onto that success, "Smoke & Oakum" being their second release since that album. Lots has changed since then, with the Johns bringing in more songs of their own to blend with the historical shanties that made them so famous. What hasn't changed is the quality of the music
Folk music, like all music, tells us something about society. When sailors shipped off to sea, the songs they sang described their lives. Long days, backbreaking labor, and through it all you had to keep on tempo to make sure the work got done. One of the ways we honor history is by preserving those stories through music. The way the Johns approach these historical shanties is really beautiful, because you can tell they've delved into the history and understand the meaning behind the words. Hell, they have their own wiki for the lyrics, and it's nice to see that dedication. Songs like The Mary Ellen Carter, Hogeye Man, or Wayfaring Stranger, perhaps so memorable from its feature in the film 1917, all reflect the closeness and growth of the Johns after their many years together.
Let's also talk about the originals, 5 of those on this album. There's a really distinct baseline on Down and Drowned, and it's nice to see the bass line finally get its moment in the sun. The use of an actual anvil on Hammer and the Anvil is creative and a reminder that instruments can be made of any item. But overall, the original songs lack the luster of the tried-and-true shanties. Without a doubt, the harmonies sound great and there's a lot to praise with the instrumentation, it's just hard to beat the shanties forged on the high seas and over the course of centuries. That doesn't mean Nantucket isn't a great song with all the acoustic charm we've come to appreciate from this band. But it's hard to beat the classics, and there's a lot of room for the Johns to evolve and we should all be very excited to see where they go from here. If you listen to 'Bones In The Ocean", their first EP from 2013, it was all acapella, all shanties, and since then we've seen the Johns grow into a legitimate folk group with a lot to offer. And who knows, in a few centuries when the ice caps melt and the Earth floods, our great-great grandkids may find themselves joining the Johns and singing these songs as they sail over the waterlogged remains of civilization.
