A New Jewel in the Crown: Greg Loftus Returns With “No Kings in the Wild”
They say that good things come to those who wait. The forthcoming release from Southern Massachusetts songwriter, Greg Loftus, is a sure fire indicator that that sentiment still rings true. Loftus’ previous record “Western Medicine” may have only been released 3 years ago, but this latest effort feels like a rebirth of sorts. The culmination of seeking “the sound” that always belonged there in support of his blue collar rock n’ roll songs. The grit and the honesty is still there shining in his voice, but a certain warmth emanates from the production courtesy of Eric Lichter and Dirt Floor Studio. A vibe that all too well dovetails with the songwriter’s heart-worn lyrics and frank, genuine context of his songs.
The first single invokes tales and experiences of how I first came across Greg. Painting a picture of hard won, small victories, playing small dive bars for free beer and a chance to win over even the most indifferent of crowds. I am taken back to the days of pickin’ tunes around a table in that downtown dive (or at least one of them in some familiar town) for a room filled with people, but none of them paying us no mind. Its how an artist gets to the point of releasing a project like “No Kings”. Cutting their teeth down to the gums and bleeding for their songs.
“Dressed to the nines in my sunday’s worst
On a thursday night and I give you my word
I’ve been getting drunk off rhyme and verse all night
I keep telling lies in this downtown dive
It’s been a hell of a week and I’m getting tired
Of this goddamn heat and this goddamn stride all the time
All the time”
The record as a whole is full of huge sounds and intricately woven layers. A production that, in theory, is quite in depth, but never overdoes what the songs need to fully breath. A prime example of which is just over the halfway mark of the album with “Seven Sisters”.
Loftus, takes a step back and the vulnerability of the tune takes full form. An acoustic guitar, a harmonica and a voice. By comparison, cutting almost deeper than some of the other more rollicking songs on the record. There is something so innately heartbreakingly beautiful about this pause, this reprieve. It sinks in deep and lives there for just the right amount of time.
But we don’t get those precious, quiet moments for too long. “Green River Revival” (next single to be out on 6/12) has plenty of ringing guitar chords, phrase ending riffs and throbbing, descending key lines that build and build and build. A toe tapper, head bopper. There is something to be said about leaning into your influences. Greg’s long been known for his love of Steve Earle, Townes and Springsteen. And “Green River”, feels like its right at place with early 80s Springsteen and the E Street Band.
The record, weighing in at 8 tracks, may seem brief at first blush, but the atmosphere and mood that is created across the course of those 8 songs feels so well thought out, so robust and beautiful, that you will inevitably want to take it for another spin at the close of it all.
What I love about the partnership between Loftus and Lichter on this record is the synergy. Eric has a way of elevating the songs of a songwriter in a way that never compromises their personal voice. And the purity of that relationship is never more clear than on “No Kings in the Wild”. Loftus’s strength as a writer and singer are only hoisted higher as a result. Where his previous releases have always shared that sense of realness and scoured tenacity, “Kings” is able to find a parallel between that authenticity and a sound that truly gets deep into your chest cavity and reverberates in a robust and piercing way.
“Kings” sees the resurgence of a songwriter at the peak of his game. Loftus’s writing has never been stronger and the passion and heart that he infuses into these songs, into this record is crystal clear. Timeless. The kind of record that a songwriter has been waiting their whole career for and when it hits, its impact is boundless.
Head to Greg’s website today. Sign up for the mailing list, get out to a show this summer and be on the lookout for “No Kings in the Wild”
