Review: Gregory McLoughlin digs down to the truth with self-titled debut album
McLoughlin impresses with his nine-song release.
Gregory McLoughlin‘s self-titled debut feels like a long-lost relic. In many ways, the singer-songwriter emerges as a time traveler, winding his thorny pen through the style and groove nestled within music’s storied history. Nine songs arrive today (December 12) in their purest, rawest, and most honest forms. There’s something invigorating about McLoughlin and his plainspoken ways, with arrangements so soothingly amber and crackling. The collection fits snugly next to Daniel Antopolsky, a forgotten troubadour of the 1970s, who once saved Townes Van Zandt’s life. McLoughlin leans into simplicity, and that’s where he nurtures understanding, curiosity, and life’s many barbed wires.
“We all pay the price, and we roll the dice,” he howls in groovy bartopper “Businessman,” drawing inspiration from David McCullough’s 1968 book, The Johnstown Flood. That catastrophic event, which killed 2,208 people after a dam broke just upstream of Johnstown, Pennsylvania, serves as a constant reminder of life’s fleeting nature and how big men in suits care little for everyday folks. McLoughlin’s lyrics appropriately pierce the static noise emanating from radios, TV sets, and social media reels. It’s that kind of brutal truth-telling that marks much of Gregory McLoughlin, best served with a cup of coffee on the front porch at dusk.
The musician jams out on tracks such as “When I Was Sand” and “Life in Jersey,” backed by a choir of voices chanting along to the lyrics. McLoughlin truly shines when he’s peeling back the layers of his life. In “Photograph,” he muses about a broken frame surrounding an old candid of him and a lover, whereas “Little Janessa” flows like tears staining a blue cotton sundress as he regales a tale about regret and forgiveness. “Hinges” abruptly comes crashing in like a wrecking ball. Its central core of unimaginable loss propels him forward, careening through torched memories that stand like ramshackle shelters dotting a barren wasteland. Pain is one of life’s most unavoidable experiences; it’ll happen sooner or later, and you can never be ready for it.
Gregory McLoughlin’s Gregory McLoughlin is a diamond in the rough. It’s jagged around the edges, but beneath coarse exteriors lie caramel arrangements and lyrics so sharp that they could cut you. They say you have your entire life to make your debut record, and what McLoughlin has done is masterfully capture a breadth of life experiences that are both intensely personal and universal. No matter class or stature, we are all trying our best—and this album perfectly shows us the real power in songwriting. It’s a true blessing to be able to survive life and share those stories.
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