Aaron Lee Tasjan – Stellar Evolution
Aaron Lee Tasjan genuinely comes off as one of the most likable guys in Nashville. The singer-songwriter-guitar whiz has penned some of the catchiest indie tunes over the past decade – 2021’s “Up All Night” is absolutely irresistible, and the title of the album it’s from, Tasjan! Tasjan! Tasjan!, displays his subtle sense of snark about everything, including himself. But there’s also darkness that comes with being an artistic, queer young man in the American South, and while it’s a topic that Tasjan has circled in the past, his new record, Stellar Evolution, tackles that resultant trauma more directly than he ever has. Even with that heavy subject matter, though, Tasjan still makes a fun, eminently listenable, and ultimately joyful record.
The entire vibe of Stellar Evolution is captured in the album’s first single and video. “Horror of It All” is a synthy 80s dive that dishes on the awkwardness Tasjan experienced almost from Day One – “Teardrops on my dinosaur t-shirt/Just a little kid swallowing my pain.” A swirl of guitars accompanies him through high school gossip – “Jenny said she heard it from a friend/I was in the 12th grade bandroom/Giving head to the baseball captain.” The video is pure 80s nostalgia, with a villainous bro, cheesy graphics and a quest for a symbolic “Golden Guitar” that’s realized in the song’s chorus – “Gonna be myself now/’Cause everyone else/Is already taken.” Turns out, regardless of era and orientation, the “suck” of high school is pretty universal.
Grown-up Tasjan is present for most of Stellar Evolution. Album lead-off “Alien Space Queen,” penned with guitar player/bandmate Erica Blinn, carries the 80s, spacey vibe, but imagines a place where (when?) sexuality and gender aren’t a hindrance – “She’s trans-femme/A demigirl dream/She’s my friend/From a galaxy far away.” Really, She seems like a cool hang that we don’t yet deserve – “She can’t stay/Here in the Milky Way/Our little planet/At war with itself/Everybody’s blaming someone else.” Tasjan’s also achieved sobriety, but not before substances nearly took over his life. “The Drugs Did Me” gives you that sludgy “why is my cassette playing at half-speed” feeling while recalling the gory, hazy (but not entirely unpleasant, because that’s what drugs temporarily do) details – “Dirty feet, long greasy hair/Jesus Christ goes heroin chic.”
Above all else, though, Tasjan is simply making an entirely reasonable bid for self-expression, free of judgment. “Pants” is a deft, light-as-air tribute to personal comfort and, well, pants – “Painted jeans or a ballroom gown/I know what it means to be a man.” “Ocean Drive” is a guitar-led, dreamy journey sun-drenched in happiness, even if it’s ultimately fleeting – “So wonderful I wouldn’t mind/If it’s the last day of my life.” “Young,” though, has more permanence. The gorgeous piano ballad has Tasjan singing at almost a whisper, not wanting to snap the reverie – “Feel your heart beat fast, watch the world detune” – but also wary of attracting the wrong attention – “They say our love is the dangerous kind/Chase us through all the streets at night.” Ultimately, though, this album capper defiantly circles back to the distant hope found in “Alien Space Queen,” a time and place where outside noise doesn’t matter – “Not a thing in the world is wrong/You’re in love and you’re young.” Young love, like high school horror, is pretty universal.
Song I Can’t Wait to Hear Live: “Dylan Shades” – synthy and bouncy, with a Petty-ish lyrical appreciation for the little things – “The mystery of you/Captured my heart/Behind your Dylan shades/Is something beautiful and dark” – that not everyone notices (but good songwriters most definitely do).
Stellar Evolution was produced by Aaron Lee Tasjan and Gregory Lattimer. All songs written by Tasjan, with co-writes going to Lattimer, Erica Blinn, Robin Shakedown, Brian Wright, Tommy Scifres, Kim Richey, David Vandervelde and Elijah Thomson
Go here to order Stellar Evolution (out April 12): https://blueelan.com/collections/aaron-lee-tasjan
Check out tour dates here: https://www.aaronleetasjan.com/tour
Enjoy our previous coverage here: Show Review: Aaron Lee Tasjan and Kevn Kinney in Tulsa