By Rob Duguay

Oh He Dead’s new album carries a unified punch as it interweaves meditations on dark subjects: mortality, polarization, and how life isn’t always sunshine and rainbows.

Oh He Dead lead singer CJ Johnson in action. Photo: courtesy of the artist

Most albums are simply an assemblage of songs that might be heard as cohesive. There are exceptions, discs who tracks tell a compelling story from start to finish. With the release of its third album, Ugly, on August 23, Washington, D.C. indie soul act Oh He Dead aimed high and succeeded. The record carries a unified punch as it interweaves meditations on dark subjects: mortality, polarization, and how life isn’t always sunshine and rainbows. The band’s on tour in support of the album, and it will be performing on the upstairs stage at The Middle East in Cambridge on October 19. Alt-pop artist ViRG will kick off the show at 8 p.m.

I had a talk with vocalist CJ Johnson ahead of the show; I asked about the making of the new album, what it took to release a full-length recording in DIY fashion, and what they are looking forward to with this return to the Boston area.

The Arts Fuse: Ugly is considered to be the “shadow-side” of Oh He Dead’s previous album Pretty, which came out last year. What did you decide to turn to darker themes in this new full-length release?

CJ Johnson: I think the new material was influenced by how it was recorded. If you listened to Pretty you would hear a pop-oriented sound. We went all the way to Murfreesboro, Tennessee to record it. With Ugly, we recorded it ourselves: all the songs are really gritty and very emotional. They are not upbeat. It kind of came with the territory.

AF: Did you record the album at a home studio or was it in a studio in D.C.?

CJJ: Our guitarist Alex Salser owns a barn that we practice at every Tuesday in Leesburg, Virginia, so we got some nice little studio equipment, set up in there, and just went to town.

AF: Ugly is being released via your own label, Wally Baba Records. What was the experience like — doing it in a DIY fashion? Was it a lot of hard work or was it easier than you initially thought it was going to be?

CJJ: It definitely was a lot of hard work, particularly the marketing. A lot of that effort came from Claire Newbegin, who is our manager. None of us are really social media kind of people, so we’re always trying to think of how to connect with folks in that way. It definitely was a different kind of set up as far as getting the word out there, getting people excited about the album

AF: What does the name for the record label come from? Why Wally Baba Records?

CJJ: Wally Baba comes from my son, who we call “Wally” and his name is Wallace, and Claire’s dad, who also helps out the band a lot, we call him “Baba”, so the name for the label comes from my son and Claire’s dad.

AF: What are your thoughts on performing at The Middle East in Cambridge, MA this weekend? It’s a pretty legendary venue in the Boston area.

CJJ: I’m excited. We’ve played in Boston before. Each time we’ve played in the city before its been at the Paradise Rock Club. The crowds are ready for music, they’re ready to just take it all in and I love that. When we’ve been on tour, those moments have been some of my favorites  — I’m looking forward to seeing what this is gonna be like.

AF: It should be a fun time. Following the release of Ugly, what’s coming up for Oh He Dead in 2025? Do you just plan on touring for Ugly, or are there plans for any new recordings?

CJJ: We definitely plan on just touring for this album for a while. But we’ve been doing a lot of writing as well, so I’m hoping that we can get some time to start working on a new record.

Rob Duguay is an arts & entertainment journalist based in Providence, who is originally from Shelton, CT. Outside of the Arts Fuse, he has also written for DigBoston, Aquarian Weekly, Providence Journal, Newport Daily News, Worcester Magazine, New Noise Magazine, Manchester Ink Link, and numerous other publications. While covering mostly music, he has also written about film, TV, comedy, theater, visual art, food, drink, sports, and cannabis.