Heartbreak hurts.

Most human beings know that. And if they don’t, they will eventually.

But heartbreak can also inspire a great song, as anyone who has ever listened to a note of pop music can tell you.

Victor Johnson already knew that. The Bend-based singer, songwriter and musical historian has been crafting his own tunes and covering giants like the Beatles, Roberta Flack, John Prine and Joni Mitchell for years. A prolific local gig-getter and open mic player, Johnson has been a visible member of the Central Oregon music scene since he moved here in 2014.

Earlier this year, however, Johnson learned just how productive heartbreak can be for an artist. The short version of the story goes like this: He met a woman last November, started dating her in December and wrote six songs for her before, he says, she broke his heart in early January. From that point through February, he wrote 16 more songs, ending up with 22 completed tunes written in 61 days.

“Every two and a half days, I’d just pick up my guitar and something else would come out, and they were all taking very different forms and styles,” he said. “They were just flowing out of me. I had never experienced anything like that in my life.”

Now, those songs form the foundation of Johnson’s new double album called “January Blossom,” which he recorded at Soundsmith Studios in Bend and will celebrate with a show Saturday night. (You can hear it at victorsingslove.bandcamp.com.) It’s Johnson’s fourth collection of original music and first to be released since “Beautiful Things” in 2015. And needless to say, perhaps, it feels different to him than his past work.

“I think it’s the best material I’ve ever written,” he said. “When I called (Soundsmith Studios proprietor) Clay Smith and told him I wanted to make an album, he said, ‘Bring a couple over and let’s see what happens.’ Twenty-two songs later, I couldn’t be happier with the way they came out.”

The album’s tracklist serves as a series of signposts, pointing the way through Johnson’s journey from friendship and fondness to heartbreak and sadness to acceptance and hope: “Head Over Heels” … “Into My Heart” … “The Truth of Love” … “This Rainy Day” … “So Much More to Say” … “Lonesome Lullaby” … “Reason to Smile” … “The Light Within.”

Along the way, you can hear his myriad influences reflected in his acoustic-folk-pop songs, ranging from The Smiths, Nick Drake, Beck and The Grateful Dead to country, jazz and even Brazilian music. Ever-present in his songs are his gifts for melody and for writing about complex human emotions like confusion and catharsis in a straightforward and relatable way. Here’s the second verse of “Be My Valentine (Open Your Heart),” for example:

Are you waiting for a miracle?

Looking for a sign across the universe?

Are the planets all where they’re supposed to be?

When I walked into your life, was I on time?

For Johnson, “January Blossom” is not only a chronicle of a relationship’s arc, it’s also a document of the support he feels from his friends, including his co-producer Smith and many people at his church, the Unity Spiritual Community of Central Oregon.

And it’s a reminder that love is powerful, music heals and even in our darkest times, we can rely on the light inside us. All we have to do is find it.

“What I realize now is that even though this relationship ended, this all came from within me. All that beauty is something I have in myself,” he said. “I’m still just blown away by that.”

What: Victor Johnson album release

When: 6-9 p.m. Saturday

Where: Unity Spiritual Community, 63645 Scenic Drive, Bend

Cost: Free

Contact: victorsingslove.bandcamp.com/album/january-blossom