Artistic Vice

Singer-Songwriter · 1991 · 16 tracks

Artistic Vice

Daniel Johnston

A rare moment of communal joy in Johnston's catalog. Shambolic garage-rock meets fragile pop melodies, recorded with a full band in a West Virginia garage.

July 1991 · Shimmy Disc

Artistic Vice represents a startling shift in the Daniel Johnston narrative, moving away from the claustrophobic hiss of his solo boombox tapes toward a communal, electric sound. Backed by The Eye Band, Johnston sounds less like a ghost in the machine and more like a man rediscovering the world after a long period of darkness. The music is unpolished and shambolic, yet it carries an ebullient energy that is rare in his discography. It is the sound of friendship acting as a safety net for a fragile psyche.

Tracklist · 16 Tracks

01

My Life Is Starting Over Again

2:06

02

Honey I Sure Miss You

3:22

03

I Feel So High

3:21

04

A Ghostly Story

2:58

05

Tell Me Now

3:28

06

Easy Listening

2:09

07

I Know Caspar

2:01

08

The Startling Facts

1:54

09

Hoping

0:47

10

It's Got to Be Good

2:16

11

Happy Soul

3:54

12

The Dream Is Over

1:44

13

Love of My Life

2:35

14

I Killed the Monster

3:57

15

Laurie

2:23

16

Fate Will Get Done

5:09

Moments Worth Listening For

The exuberant, slightly out-of-tune group vocals on The Sun Shines Down on Me that feel like a genuine breakthrough.

The fragile, solo piano opening of Laurie that captures the essence of Johnston's lifelong devotion.

The fuzzy, garage-rock energy of Honey I Sure Miss You where the band finally locks into a steady groove.

Reviews

AllMusic

Where This Album Departs

How does Artistic Vice sound next to the rest of Daniel Johnston's catalogue?

Love Romantic+3.7σ

The writing leans far further into love romantic than the rest of the catalogue.

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