Enumclaw’s Aramis Johnson on the new album, being in your late 20s, and Tacoma: “I have been constantly humbled by life”
Enumclaw frontman Aramis Johnson is one hell of a character. While you get a strong hit of that through listening to the frank nature of his lyrics and appropriately raw vocal delivery, speaking to him makes it clear the rising alternative rock force has all the spirit to become one of the genre’s great contemporary powers.
We sat down ahead of the Tacoma quartet’s second album, Home In Another Life, arriving via their new home of Run for Cover Records. It reflects the band’s might that they have been acquired by the legendary Boston label, home to a collection of some of our era’s finest guitar acts, including Fiddlehead, Narrow Head and Horse Jumper of Love.
While 2022’s debut, Save The Baby, was a highlight for current alt-rock, the new Enumclaw record sees the group mature in every aspect, mirroring the immense change that Johnson has experienced over the past couple of years, a sensation inherent to being in your late 20s.
I caught up with Johnson over Zoom, who was sitting in a baking Birmingham, Alabama. “It’s hot as shit right now,” he swelters as the sun glares down on the street behind him. The heat there differs from that on his native West Coast due to the dense, swampy climate.
The group had played in the city the previous night and, after the interview, were heading to Nashville to hang out for the day. It then became readily apparent how unaffected the Enumclaw leader is, offering blunt insight and opinions just like in his songs. Regarding the Tennessee capital, he says: “Honestly, I don’t really care for Nashville much. I don’t dislike it, but it’s like, it’s hella millennial. I’m not really into that vibe. I have six girlfriends who have gone there this year for bachelorette parties or hen parties. Is that what you call it?”
It’s a confusing reality to him, as nothing he associates Nashville with culturally has been present the handful of times he’s visited. He does, however, like some of the contemporary acts holing up there, including Soccer Mommy, who has worked with Save The Baby producer Gabe Wax in the past.
From the outside, it seemed as if Tacoma was having a musical moment on the international scale. I had reviewed another denizen, J.R.C.G.’s latest album, Grim Iconic…, the previous week and expected a glowing review from Johnson. That wasn’t the case. Instead, I got another concentrated hit of his individuality. “Is he signed to Sub Pop?” he asks inquisitively. “I just heard about that guy.”
“On record, I don’t give a fuck. That guy’s not valid. I don’t know him, and I’m like the prince of the city…” he grins playfully, taking a sip of his coffee. “That guy’s a transplant. That guy’s not from Tacoma.”
As you might have guessed, Johnson is proudly Tacoma-born and bred, a resonant stance for a Yorkshireman to hear. He continues: “Dude, if you go to Tacoma and ask somebody about me on the street, like, nine times out of ten, they’ll know who I am. I’m from Tacoma; check out the belt buckle.” He then shows off a shiny stamp of identification, hovering above his crotch. It is confidently the most American thing I’ve seen in a while. I recommend the album anyway, and he says he’ll check it out.
Before even getting to Home In Another Life, Johnson explains the underlying issue. The 28-year-old tells me many mid-30s-types have relocated to Tacoma from California and “made it hella whack”. He knows he’s biased, but “it’s hella, like, millennial pill”. Comically, he puts on a mocking Los Angeles accent and says: “We’re gonna move to Tacoma and open up a, like, bagel shop.”
He concedes: “It’s why I left? I’m not 35 and white. There’s nothing for me to do here anymore.” To be fair to J.R.C.G., though, he moved there as a child from Arizona. Somewhat ironically, Johnson informs me he is now “one of those assholes” who lives in Silver Lake, Los Angeles.
Nevertheless, this irony gives life to Enumclaw’s latest record. Johnson reveals that the band recently listened to Home In Another Life for the first time in the van. They hadn’t played it since the mixing and mastering process, but his only takeaway was: “If people aren’t fucking with this, then they’re tripping”. He adds: “I feel pretty confident in it.” He’s a professed music snob and has made music before that he didn’t like, so he’s assured in this analysis.
Discussing the frank themes of the album, which range from his Uncle Mike being diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimers to personal evolution, Johnson strikes a more candid tone, “I have been constantly humbled by life.” While only 28, he wrote the album while 26 and 27 when “crazy shit”, such as his uncle’s diagnosis, was unfolding in front of him.
There’s much content out there about growing older that is “so cliché” that “I don’t really fuck with,” he declares. However, Uncle Mike being diagnosed with Alzheimer’s is a very harsh reality that made its way into the album, particularly on the single ‘Not Just Yet’. Discussing the broader nature of the album, he explains: “It’s just about being in your mid-late 20s and realising that shit isn’t sweet and that anything that you think can’t happen to you can and will happen to you.”
Surprisingly, given the song’s significance, Johnson wrote it in five minutes at the end of band practice. He didn’t explicitly set out to write a song about his uncle. He just had the first line and ran with it. However, the things that sat in his subconscious that he thought he wasn’t thinking about soon surfaced.
Johnson hates “another fucking cliché” in groups saying later albums feel like their first. However, after he read a comment from Deftones frontman Chino Moreno stating that they were so stoked to make their debut record Adrenaline they didn’t concentrate on its actual quality, the lifeblood of Home In Another Life became clear.
Enumclaw hammered out the kinks on their new effort much longer than Save The Baby, and to him, it shows. He states: “I really felt like we had a vision for this record, and it was executed to the best of our abilities. Save The Baby is like a Gabe Wax and Enumclaw record, but this is like the first Enumclaw record, if that makes sense.”
Another reason Home In Another Life feels so good to Johnson is that the band co-produced it with Seattle’s Ben Zaidi, who is like a sibling to the frontman. In late 2023, Zaidi proposed collaborating after the group was dropped by their old label, Fat Possum imprint, Luminelle Recordings, as they had a batch of songs ready to go. Enumclaw had another producer lined up, but it fell through, and Zaidi was swiftly brought on board. They then recorded the album in a swift four days over Thanksgiving.
Johnson admits to having realised music is a very vulnerable craft over the last few tours, and the new songs feel much more revealing than before. It’s even made him “feel really nervous at times, for the first time,” he concedes. Yet, having Zaidi around really helped the songs come to life, and he aptly notes: “I think we’re gonna do the next record with him again.”
Now, on Run For Cover, who have believed in Enumclaw to the point of instilling a new level of confidence in the band, everything seems well placed for their future beyond Home In Another Life. “Shout out Run for Cover,” Johnson beams once more, a prideful frontman with a prideful belt.
