photo by Alex Bartole; photo courtesy of Carissa Johnson

Single Review of Carissa Johnson: “Congratulations”

Carissa Johnson is a highly-acclaimed, award-winning singer songwriter-slash-asskicking rock singer. Among Carissa’s more notable awards, she earned a Boston Music Award for Best New Artist in 2017, and she won Rock Act of the Year at the 2019 New England Music Awards. I’m pleased to get a chance to review Carissa’s latest single, “Congratulations,” which showcases her many, varied talents – songwriting, forceful yet tuneful vocal delivery, and, in this case, an engaging sarcastic rock ‘n roll tone: “Congratulations, you lost me good… Now you’ve got what you wanted.” Those lyrics, bookending the chorus, absolutely drip and are delivered exquisitely.

Carissa Johnson

On “Congratulations,” Carissa serves up an “I Hate Myself For Loving You” (Joan Jett) edge with the opening guitar riffs, a hint of an Avril Lavigne smirk in the delivery, an insistent tempo reminiscent of Jimmy Eat World, and a strength and power that’s sort of alt-rock meets pop-friendly rock with a punk attitude. All the while, Carissa’s voice serves up a tone that’s all her own, identifying this song as quite specifically a Carissa Johnson number. And that’s what you want as a musician, for people to be able to recognize you within just a few notes. (I mean, yikes, her tone on the lyric “don’t you look behi-i-ind.” Shivers!) It’s helpful from the perspective of a music fan, too, because once you recognize her voice, you know the song’s gonna rock.

Among recent reviews I’ve written, I’d pair Carissa’s music most closely with Phil Jamieson’s, though she’d slip in easily alongside any rock band from alt-rock to classic rock. Among Boston-area rockers, she’d be the hard-edged pop alt-rock equivalent of more straight-ahead rocker Jennifer Tefft.

If the above has piqued your interest, check out “Congratulations” on YouTube (the song starts 48 seconds in, but it’s an amusingly, creatively cool video!), Spotify, bandcamp, or wherever else you consume music.

photo by Alex Bartole; photo courtesy of Carissa Johnson

Looking Ahead

There are currently two dates listed in the “Tour” section of Carissa’s website: Saturday, January 13th with Shy Husky at The Middle East in Cambridge, MA and Friday, January 26th at the Two Bridges Luncheonette in New York, NY. Check back periodically for additional shows, as they’re added. And be sure to follow Carissa on your favorite social media – you can find those and other links on her linktree.