Greg Loftus’ Western Medicine EP is a brief 2 song sampler of the full-length cd of the same title. Recorded in the Boston area, he’s joined during the first track “When My Day Comes” by stellar backing. Mike Machaby’s keyboards, lap steel, slide guitar, bass, and backing vocals is Loftus’ key collaborator for this performance, but Loftus is well-served by drummer Dave Ellis and second vocalist John Beninghof. The musicians are capable of invoking gritty Americana without ever sounding overwrought and the two songs Loftus has selected can be rightly considered representative of the album.
“When My Day Comes” invokes the romantic fatalism rife throughout the genre. It also has some humor, but it’s the whistling past the graveyard variety common in songs of this ilk. Loftus has obviously internalized the songwriting traditions of this kind of music quite well but what he’s giving back to us isn’t undigested or heavy-handed tribute. “When My Day Comes” hits me as something much more akin to a creative and personal “riff” on a longstanding tradition.
It isn’t difficult to imagine the track working as part of a larger whole. The standalone strengths of the song are evident with a single listen and multiple hearings fail to exhaust its appeal. Loftus has the convicting gravity of a veteran singer/songwriter while avoiding the abundant clichés often associated with the style. The EP’s second track “Hill Country Choir” has understated magic. Loftus is definitely in love with the sound of words and improbable imagery.
BANDCAMP: https://gregloftus.bandcamp.com/track/when-my-day-comes
There are plenty of both in this song. Duct tape messiahs and pawn shop amplifiers aglow may, initially, sound like a bit of verbal tinsel meaning nothing in particular. Mull the image for a few moments, however, and sensitive minded listeners will grasp that we’re dealing with a touch of the poet when we’re talking about Loftus’ songwriting prowess. It’s mixed, however, with plaintive head-on declarative statements too that capture the listener’s attention.
There are plenty of both in this song. Duct tape messiahs and pawn shop amplifiers aglow may, initially, sound like a bit of verbal tinsel meaning nothing in particular. Mull the image for a few moments, however, and sensitive minded listeners will grasp that we’re dealing with a touch of the poet when we’re talking about Loftus’ songwriting prowess. It’s mixed, however, with plaintive head-on declarative statements too that capture the listener’s attention.
It’s more stripped down than the earlier “When My Day Comes” without packing any less of a punch. Unity of sound brings these songs together, as well, as there’s an obvious guiding production aesthetic present behind both songs certain to apply to the remainder of Western Medicine. There is an assortment of reasons big and small why he chose these two songs for the EP; “When My Day Comes” and “Hill Country Choir”, without question, are illustrative of the album’s vision.
Anyone intrigued enough by this EP to brave the longer work will be rewarded. Loftus is far from the finishing end creatively, but there’s a feeling that he’s reaching his peak with his latest work. Such moments are a curious thing in artistic careers; they can last one album or three or be one of many. Loftus, as well, sounds like he’s aware of that and he’s capitalizing on that fleeting moment the way that any artist should. His Western Medicine EP entices you to spend much more time in his company.
Gwen Waggoner
