Greg Loftus Releases New EP

Glowing with a melodic intensity that has become as much of a signature as his voice is, the guitars are always a star in Greg Loftus’ sound, but they’re all the more a linchpin of his new track “When My Day Comes.” Whether consumed beside the vibrant imagery of its lyricism, the strings here are a catalyst for every eruption of catharsis we’ll encounter. Loftus has no room for sonic fluff in his new record Western Medicine – his formula requires nothing more than raw passion and righteous rhythm, both of which he possesses plentifully.

Everything in “When My Day Comes” centers on the strut of the percussion. The drums colorize the string play with a tension that maximizes the release in the chorus substantially. Where the bassline is used as a cushion for the vocal element in the song, there’s no added wallop created in their harmony – contrarily, I think it creates some efficiency in the hook when it counts the most. This is top-quality arranging at its most vulnerable and exposed, and it’s half the reason why I think this is one of Greg Loftus’s best songs to date.

BANDCAMP: https://gregloftus.bandcamp.com/track/when-my-day-comes

If you’ve heard his music before, you already know that Loftus has a penchant for drawing up provocative enigmas in his work, but I don’t think “When My Day Comes” is his greatest riddle yet. It’s definitely as multi-interpretive as anything on The Soft Sound of Sundown was, but I don’t see anything within its construction that would imply he was trying to impart something darker beneath the sunny finish here at all. A little straightforward compared to what I was expecting, this song gives us a different angle from which to understand its creator’s artistic drive (which is a plus at any rate in my book).

The chorus in “Hill Country Choir” could have used a little more emphasis on the verse, but I can understand what Loftus was going for in putting his vocals at the top of everything else at this juncture in the song. If his goal was to tie together the loose ends in a pop-centric hook, he created a transparent showcase for his compositional skillset in this piece. Whether or not the mainstream press takes note will be up to the future to decide, but I think this track belongs in his ‘Best of’ collection without a doubt.

While I was only a casual fan of Greg Loftus’s discography before now, I’m going to be looking out for more of his content as the 2020s begin to take shape. There are a lot of reasons to keep this guy on your radar right now – his skills are maturing marvelously, his sound is tighter than ever, and most of all, he’s steering clear of selling out (even though he’s got every reason to do so, considering the talent he’s got). Loftus is one true blue player, and Western Medicine is an excellent exhibition of his in-studio abilities.

Michael Rand