For Washington, D.C.-based indie-soul quintet Oh He Dead, coming up with material for its recently released fourth studio album, “Vertigo,” wasn’t the challenging part.
It was deciding which 10 of the nearly 100 songs the band had in the can would make the cut.
Frontwoman and lead singer Cynthia “CJ” Johnson explained that the band’s prolific songwriting process is fueled, in part, by a project-management tool.
“Usually, when one of us writes something, whether it’s a beat, a full track without vocals or just vocals, we put everything into an app called Trello,” Johnson explained. “It allows you to create different sections, so we’ll have one for beats that Adam (Ashforth) made, another for songs Alex (Salser) has written and others for different ideas. We also have a section called ‘Potential to Be on an Album,’ and we’re constantly moving songs into that category.”
The band adds material to Trello throughout the year. While touring and spending long hours on the road – the band returns to The Casbah on Wednesday – the members revisit their growing collection, listening together and deciding which ideas are worth developing.
“That’s usually how the process works,” she said. “Everybody in the band writes, and I love that because it makes things that much more fun. You never know what we’re going to come up with next.”
This novel approach to collaboration has helped Oh He Dead cultivate a distinctive sound blending soul, R&B, jazz and indie rock. Johnson lists Kings of Leon, Sade and Stevie Nicks as her three biggest influences, while her bandmates appreciate jazz vibraphonist Roy Ayers, Marvin Gaye and The Strokes. The result is an irresistible melting pot.
“It’s hard to pinpoint exactly where our sound comes from, but we love mixing it all together,” she said. “It’s really just everybody throwing in what they feel.”
Oh He Dead began in 2015 as a folk duo featuring Johnson and guitarist/vocalist Salser. It has since evolved into an eclectic five-piece ensemble, with bassist Colin Sidley, keyboardist Piano Whitman and Ashforth, the drummer, rounding out the lineup. And the band’s delightfully unconventional name has an origin story as colorful as its music.
“It actually started with a song I wrote when I was younger,” Johnson shared. “In the song, I had a cheating boyfriend. A band member asked, ‘Whatever happened to the guy in that song?’ And I said, ‘Oh, he dead.’ For a long time, we just joked around with that phrase.
“When we had our first show, the promoter called and said, ‘Hey, you guys never gave me a band name to put on the bill.’ It was a no-brainer. We looked at each other, laughed and said, ‘Let’s go with Oh He Dead for now. We can change it later.’ We just never did; it stuck.”
The band went on to release three albums between 2019 and 2024, expanding its musical identity along the way. Building on the momentum of its viral 2019 NPR Tiny Desk Contest entry, “Lonely Sometimes,” Oh He Dead established its signature indie-soul foundation with its self-titled debut.
In 2023, the group expanded its sound with “Pretty,” leaning into groovy rhythms and showcasing Johnson’s velvety sandpaper vocals. It followed a year later with “Ugly,” mixing darker themes with the kind of spirited energy that has become a hallmark of its live performances.
For “Vertigo,” the band brought in Nashville-based producer Jimmy Mansfield, known for his work with country artists including Eric Church, Lainey Wilson and Little Big Town. While the pairing might seem unusual, Johnson said the collaboration proved rewarding.
“Jimmy is an interesting dude because he’s Nashville all the way, but he’s also got an ear for other things,” she said. “He was very good at maintaining consistency with my voice and making sure it fit with everything else, as well as getting the piano and synth parts to fit into the overall sound. It was a really fun experience watching him work.”
The album’s opener and title track emerged from a difficult day Johnson had been having.
“I went through our Trello board thinking I was going to write a sad song about it,” she recalled. “I stumbled upon ‘Vertigo,’ which Adam had named, and I had this overwhelming feeling of, ‘Oh my God, I’m so happy to be alive. I could be dead, but I’m alive and I feel good. So why am I even complaining?’”
The album artwork also features a decidedly personal touch: a cutout baby photo of Johnson’s now 6-year-old son, Wallace. While the band loved the picture and encouraged her to use it, Johnson was initially concerned that it would appear everywhere, from T-shirts to other merch. Eventually, she asked Wallace for his permission, and he gave them the thumbs up.
Meanwhile, Foreground Productions has spent roughly two years following Oh He Dead on the road, filming a documentary about the life of an indie band. Johnson said the crew, which has complete creative control over the finished film, has captured all the triumphs and tribulations on tour.
“I’m sure I’ll be surprised by some of what’s included because they’ve captured a lot. They’ve gotten the good parts, the bad parts and some moments when things didn’t go right,” she said. “I’m excited to see what it all turns into.”
The film crew previously captured footage when the band appeared at The Casbah last year, so Johnson doesn’t expect them to return for this week’s performance. Instead, the band will focus on showcasing fresh material from “Vertigo.”
The documentary is now in the editing phase, with a possible completion date in summer 2027. More than anything, Johnson hopes the project offers an honest look at the realities of life for indie bands and what keeps them going.
“When you hear artists say they do it for the fame or the money, indie artists aren’t doing it for either of those things,” she said. “We don’t get the fame or the money. We do it because we love music and want people to hear good music.”
Donovan Roche is a longtime music writer and regular contributor to Times of San Diego.
