New Jersey songwriter reveals one of his most dream-born and enduring songs following last month’s release of lead single and video “Businessman”
Stream “Photograph” HERE
Armed with a bass, a kick drum, and a foot tambourine, Gregory McLoughlin has spent years turning parking lots, sidewalks, and festival campsites into makeshift stages – offering one-on-one performances that feel more like conversations than concerts. Today, the New Jersey-based songwriter shares “Photograph,” the newest single from his forthcoming self-titled debut album, arriving December 12th.
“Photograph” holds a special place in McLoughlin’s catalog – a song that, as he recalls, “entered lifted straight from a dream of bleachers and a chant-like swing.” Anchored by its hypnotic pulse and melodic clarity, the track showcases the instinctive songwriting that has become his hallmark: melodies that seem to surface from somewhere half-remembered, held in place by narratives that feel both personal and archetypal. It’s one of the earliest pieces written for the album and a window into the intuitive approach that threads through his work.
The new single follows last month’s release of “Businessman,” a guitar-forward rocker inspired by David McCullough’s The Johnstown Flood and the cost of powerful people ignoring warning signs. Where “Businessman” channels collective tension and social conscience, “Photograph” moves in the opposite direction – inward, rhythmic, almost meditative. Together, they trace the emotional and musical range of Gregory McLoughlin, an album built on humility, hand-hewn craft, and a deep belief in the everyday poetry of lived experience.
At the heart of the record is the writing – songs that reveal character and detail through the kind of lyricism that feels unmistakably human. McLoughlin’s melodies often arrive unbidden: “Photograph” from a dream, “Hemispheres” after a 10-minute nap on Cape Cod, others rising out of riffs, quiet moments, or half-formed phrases captured on his phone before they evaporate. His work lives in the space between intuition and discipline, shaped by decades of listening, learning, and showing up for the small, essential work of songwriting.
The album itself reflects the journey of a lifelong side man stepping into his own name. Picture him at dusk, weaving through a sea of parked cars with a bass in one hand and a foot tambourine strapped to his shoe, reading faces the way some people read weather. He’s not there to blast a crowd; he’s there to ask, one human at a time: “Can I play you a song?” Sometimes the answer is no. Often it’s a shrug that turns into a smile. Every now and then a whole campsite starts singing. That’s the pulse of Gregory McLoughlin – stubbornly handmade, deeply lived-in, more interested in connection than cool.
Raised in Westchester County, McLoughlin found early refuge in late-night reruns of The Donna Reed Show, a world that held steady when his own didn’t. Music came later – not through conservatories, but through concerts, community, and eventually the jam-band ecosystem that rewired his life after he stumbled upon a Grateful Dead cassette. Years with working bands, an apprenticeship with BuzzUniverse, and a Coursera/Berklee songwriting course sharpened his instincts and opened the door to the songs that now define him.
When the world shut down, he didn’t. He anchored the Busking Down the House community with his Monday night “TGIM” livestream, turning a weekly ritual into something like a virtual village. Offline, he developed his signature style of one-on-one parking-lot performances – small, brave acts of connection that form the bedrock of his artistic identity.
If the live work is where McLoughlin tests his courage, the album is where he puts it in order. It’s built on bass patterns that move like heartbeat and a kick drum that keeps the floor steady; on stories told with a voice that doesn’t posture or pose. “He sings like a person who has learned to tell the truth out loud, even when his voice shakes,” his bio notes. And that spirit runs through “Photograph” – a song born softly, carried faithfully, and now shared with the world.
Gregory McLoughlin – Tracklist
1. You Set the Tone
2. When I Was Sand
3. Photograph
4. Superficial Lines
5. Life in Jersey
6. Hinges
7. Businessman
8. Little Janessa
9. Rainy Days
https://www.gregorymcloughlin.com/
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https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfz2rPTKIfoXRWAW_z7PMQg
https://open.spotify.com/artist/4XSO8O5GRjw61J49NtLIUg?si=C1TDcLhKR6W5voQEAo7G2A
https://music.apple.com/us/artist/gregory-mcloughlin/1061943443
