A friend on social media recently shared an Aaron Lee Tasjan video from a few years ago. I cautioned her that his new record was going to be VERY different. Her response was “I'm excited! He's always changin’ it up!” ALT has done just that with his new release Tasjan! Tasjan! Tasjan! on New West Records. Never one to accept categorization, for his fourth solo album Tasjan has put together a collection of shimmering power pop that will most likely confuse those with only limited familiarity of his more Americana-flavored work but should delight fans who have followed his career more closely.

His record label was concerned that his music was going in too many different directions, so Tasjan began writing new songs and recording them in secret. Even though he says the label didn’t see him as a producer, Tasjan was intent on producing the record himself and says he feels grateful to his label for “motivating him to prove them and himself wrong.” He recorded the tracks at Make Sound Good studio in Nashville and shares production credits with Gregory Lattimer who also co-produced Tasjan’s 2018 release Karma For Cheap.

Tasjan! Tasjan! Tasjan! begins with the bright bubblegum pop of “Sunday Women” then moves into the steady drumbeat of “Computer of Love” featuring lush layered harmonies. The debut track “Up All Night” stands out with a more 80s synth-pop feel and lyrics that hint at the personal exposition coming later in the record. The acoustic guitar that drives “Another Lonely Day” changes the texture of the overall sound but a steady drumbeat still propels the song. More of the beautiful harmonies that are found throughout the album keep the tune afloat. The closest thing to a “rock” song on the disc is “Don’t Overthink It” and even it features a jangling acoustic guitar over a steady pulse of bass and drums with dreamy synthesizer textures. 

“Cartoon Music” is where Tasjan’s lyrics start to bite: “Cartoon music for plastic people, nobody knows if they’re real / Cartoon music for plastic people, they don’t know how to feel / Just wasting your mind away / Same deja vu as yesterday.” Sexuality is front and center with “Feminine Walk” and the lyrics once again are stellar: “You’ve seen Bowie and Bolan and Jagger, too / Grace Jones, Joan Jett, and To Wong Foo / I got a feminine walk / Rolled out from New York City, like a metropolitan Conway Twitty.” Piano replaces the acoustic guitar as the melodic instrument on “Dada Bois” but continues the steady 4/4 pop that is the hallmark of the album. 

“Now You Know” may be the most Beatle-esque of the many tracks that are reminiscent of some of Lennon & McCartney’s best work. Tasjan’s struggle for musical independence is showcased in the lyrics of “Not That Bad:” “Tried it slow. I tried it faster, I taped over the master / And the silence I recorded sure said it all / It had danger, it had soul, it was the ghost of rock n’ roll / I sent it to the label but I never got a call.” The record ends with “Got What I Wanted” featuring more soaring harmonies and an almost melancholy feeling even though it has a sense of fulfillment.

I can appreciate why Tasjan wanted to produce this record himself, nobody else could have heard it. The tight harmonies are straight out of the 60s and the arrangements recall the vintage synth-pop from the 80s. His wry lyrics have just enough anarchy to keep the whole thing from going mainstream. This sounds like the record Aaron Lee Tasjan has always wanted to make.

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