The John Muka Band’s new album, released May 30, 2025, carries the weight of time, memory, and survival. It doesn’t sound like a new act trying to break through. It feels like the culmination of years lived, lost, and reclaimed. The title track, “Things I Can’t Change,” sits at the emotional center of the release, capturing resignation, reflection, and flickers of hope with disarming honesty.
The album has been almost two decades in the making. The project was started in 2006, then paused as life derailed plans. When the band finally reformed in 2025, the songs didn’t just resume. They matured. The lyrics draw directly from John Muka’s experiences with homelessness, addiction, fractured relationships, and the existential unease that follows. Rather than wallowing in despair, the writing takes a sober look at the past through the lens of survival. It never reaches for melodrama. It speaks plainly, which makes the emotional impact land harder.
Musically, “Things I Can’t Change” blends jam-band roots with indie rock sensibilities, giving the tracks momentum and improvisational edges. You hear the influence of Dave Matthews and Phish in the rhythmic phrasing and fluid arrangements, but Troy Towsley’s indie background pulls the music into tighter, moodier territory. The interplay between fiddle and piano adds texture and tone you don’t often hear in indie rock, creating a hybrid sound that feels both recognizable and fresh.
Tracks like “A Moments Thought,” “Cornered,” and “That Isn’t Good” highlight the band’s stylistic dexterity. Jazz flourishes brush up against funk grooves while guitar lines stay grounded in rock structure. The compositions move and breathe like live performances rather than studio-locked constructs. It’s clear the band values space in the mix, letting each instrument contribute to the emotional tension.
The title track and “That Is Something” lean into blues and southern rock influences, grounding the album with grit and weight. Those songs reflect the theme suggested in the album’s name: facing what can’t be undone. The writing circles the idea that certain scars become markers rather than obstacles. That message resonates across generations and genres.
The recording process itself shapes the album’s atmosphere. Everything was produced and engineered in Towsley’s home studio, with careful layering and live takes capturing intimate performances. Knowing it’s a labor that stretched across so many years makes the warmth of the production feel earned. You hear musicians trusting each other, leaving rough edges intact where polish would rob the moment of authenticity.
“Things I Can’t Change” isn’t just an album about the past. There’s anticipation in its release. The band plans festival dates and club shows in 2026, signaling momentum after years of pause. That sense of forward motion gives the closing moments of the record meaning. Even when lyrics confront despair, the music leans toward resilience.
At its core, the album asks a difficult question: how do we carry what we can’t undo? The John Muka Band answers not with certainty, but with a willingness to sit with complexity. That honesty, paired with evolving musicianship, makes “Things I Can’t Change” their most compelling work yet.
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