Ray Johnson’s Water Colors
Album Review by Rob Bennett
The Vibe Vault Music Discovery Magazine
Release date: October 6, 2026

Some albums are held together by a musical style. Listening to Water Colors, I heard an album
held together by emotion. Across its ten songs, Ray Johnson moves through anticipation,
intimacy, regret, loneliness, romance and grief. Each song has its own identity, but when you
hear them together, they create a larger picture of what love gives us, what it takes away and
what remains afterward.

Water Colors is the sixth studio album from Ray Johnson and Dave Bieritz. It was produced,
recorded and mixed by Johnson, then mastered by Daniel Blake. Most of the music and lyrics
were written by Johnson, with Gregg Stone co-writing “Music for the Soul” and Don Mercer
writing “Say My Name.”

I think most of us want to be fully known, but only if the other person likes what they find. That’s
the gamble we take when we let someone close.

That is what caught my attention in “Heart Shaped World.” Johnson describes a private place
inside his soul where no one has been and invites a friend to step inside. He has waited his entire
life to fill its empty space, but he does not assume that his feelings are returned. Instead, he asks
whether the other person feels the same and ultimately leaves the decision to them.
That uncertainty gives the song its vulnerability. Johnson believes this private world was built for
two and imagines it as a place of freedom, music and possibility. However, none of it can
become what he hopes until the other person chooses to share it with him.

The music carries that same uncertainty. “Heart Shaped World” sits between an acoustic singer-
songwriter ballad and folk-pop, with elements of Adult Contemporary. Set in G major and 4/4
time, it is built on fingerpicked acoustic guitar with piano/synth, bass and vocals. The slow,
spacious arrangement leaves room for Johnson’s deep baritone and conversational phrasing.
Listen closely to the verses and you’ll hear the descending bass line settle on Em, the vi chord,
rather than providing a bright major-key resolution. That gives the music its bittersweet pull and
keeps the verses reflective and slightly suspended beneath the hopeful lyrics.

For me, “Heart Shaped World” represents one of the warmer colours on Water Colors. It captures
the hope that someone will enter the private life we have built and choose to remain there. The
album explores love before, during and after a relationship, but this song pauses at the moment
when everything is still possible.
Ray Johnson Online

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Visit ray-johnson.com/ray-johnson-water-colors for more information

About the Author
Rob Bennett is a Canadian musician, producer and music educator who runs The Vibe Vault, an
independent music network encompassing radio, playlists, a weekly YouTube show and The
Vibe Vault Music Discovery Magazine. His reviews combine close listening, musical analysis
and personal reflection.
Rob Bennett | The Vibe Vault
The Vibe Vault:
https://vibevlt.com/
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Email:
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Publication Note for the Editor
Publication Note for the Editor
This review was written by Rob Bennett for The Vibe Vault Music Discovery Magazine and will
be published there. It may also be published non-exclusively by another publication, provided
the original byline and credit to The Vibe Vault Music Discovery Magazine are retained.
Album artwork, artist photographs, image credits and permission information should be supplied
separately by Ray Johnson.