Find Out Why Johnny Petunia's "Never Be Apart" Coins The Genre Pinball Rock

Photo by Greg Wilson

Johnny Petunia’s debut LP is like all the best nostalgic parts of a Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers song meets 80s synth rock meets crooning indie bedroom pop. He’s coined the genre “pinball rock,” and this album pretty accurately seems to bounce between all of the aforementioned sounds. It’s difficult to classify Never Be Apart into one space, because each song feels so different from the last. This is a really fun listen if you’re looking to shake up your quarantine playlists.

John Ryan worked on this solo project with producer Joe Michelini (of American Trappist) after Ryan’s former full band Petunia went their separate ways. Ryan played all guitars, bass, and synth parts and Shane Luckenbaugh (also of American Trappist) played drums.

Right away this album gave me major Heartbreaker vibes with “Maybe It Was Better.” Ryan cites Tom Petty as a huge influence for this release, and while I thought that Americana, rock and roll vibe would carry over through the rest of the tracks, Ryan consistently switched up the vibe between nearly every track. It’s that pinball rock genre at work. While that sound seems to be the overarching theme of the album as a whole, there are some key diversities at work. Tracks like “MC” do keep with the gentle acoustic tone with hints of understated country, but others like “Never Be Apart” veer deeply into synthetic bedroom pop with pulsating vocals and heavy, heavy reverb. “Happy Birthday Gabriel!” is bright and swinging, with hints of happy and poppy 80s rock. Ryan’s vocals serve as a sort of chameleon throughout the tracklisting, effortlessly blending into the soundscape and transforming each song into something totally unique from the last.

Despite the apparent emphasis on what makes all these songs different from each other, Never Be Apart is still a very cohesive listen. Ryan capitalized on a handful of sounds and techniques and learned how to strategically implement them into songs that listen like polar opposites yet still manage to find some common ground. It’s a very technically advanced album because of this. Pulling from a multitude of sources and inspirations that span decades and genres might seem chaotic on paper, but this release by Johnny Petunia does it right.

Check out the full release below, and keep up with Ryan here.