Incubus (S.C.I.E.N.C.E. mostly), Thrice, Blindside, Circa Survive, Glassjaw, Brand New, Switchfoot, Rush, Coheed and Cambria, Maylene and the Sons of Disaster, He Is Legend, ForShadow, Crucial Taunt, Wayne Campbell, and Garth "Damien" Algar.
Somewhere in a field in the upstate of South Carolina, Josh McLaughlin is playing his guitar. Having grown up singing, the 20-year-old singer/songwriter points to Incubus, Thrice and Switchfoot as his biggest influences, and credits his upbringing in the small town of Cullman, AL for shaping his musical career. Like most born musicians he formed a high school band named ForShadow, who had a good thing going in the Yellowhammer state. McLaughlin sang backing vocals but found himself wanting more and began writing songs with a different feel. As he admits, "If so much talent and creativity can come from such a small, nobody town, than what's to stop me from having success as a solo act?" With that in mind, he began working hard on solo songs and what began as a side project grew into a full-fledged solo effort.
Using the name Feature Resignation, a take-off on the term "feature presentation," McLaughlin carves a delicate and piercing slice of acoustic-based singer/songwriter that's wholly confident, intelligent and engaging. The empassioned and emotional "Inebriated," showcases his varied range and has a guttural and visceral pull to it that packs a huge emotional wallop. He even sounds slightly angry when he sings, "When you wake up, you won't remember a thing. Our thoughts multiply, the things inside your eyes are not alone."
McLaughlin admits he wants his songs to be loud, passionate and to-the-point and the latter two facets are definitely felt. More importantly, he knows what he wants to achieve with his songs. As he admits, "I want someone to hear my song somewhere, whether it be a radio station or an elevator, and think 'This is interesting. I want to hear more!' And mainly I just like to write songs that I myself enjoy listening to. I hated being in a band and being embarrassed to play in front of certain people because this one guitar lick was a little goofy, or this one lyric was a bit racy. I want to sit down with my parents or the Pope and feel the same about them hearing my music."
That one desire will most likely be felt in the throaty, panged confessional "Fantasy Dream;" which finds him singing, "And so it goes, should I Sleep or should I Dream today," as his voice croons about "words make no sense to me." The most telling aspect of Fantasy Dream is the high vocal range and the slight falsetto, a vocal trick that is used again on the woozy "Sunny Rain State of Mind," which features a chiming chorus and an engaging hook.
McLaughlin admits that when a song means a lot to him, he'll bypass a memorable chorus in favor of provoking lyrics, but what he does on "There's So Much Left to Say," proves he can do both. The confident strumming yields to confident vocals filled with clarity and conviction that's commanding, plaintive and direct. It's not unlikely to think the song would do well at college radio as he sings, "You can make me sing until my voice is gone and I somehow have told you everything. You are my lyric to a song, pen to paper, words are gone, there's so much left to say. You just do your thing, when you do what you do to me." It's a sprite pop song that's aided along by it's creator's confidence and polish.
McLaughlin proves his sensitive side on the hushed intimacy of "Cinematic Music and Sunlight," which comes across as more of a bedroom demo, while "Sucks For You," a cheeky kiss-off proves he can be biting and sarcastic when need be. Of all his songs, few are as catchy or as memorable as "Sucks For You," which benefits from its playful chorus and its whimsical verse structure. Still relatively unknown outside of the upcountry, McLaughlin is eager to make a name for himself and create a dent in the varied Charlotte music scene. One thing is for certain, with this many good songs and such a defined vision, there's plenty of reason to think Feature Resignation is on its way.
-Gregory Robson -AbsolutePunk.net
-Josh
Feature Resignation
BOOK ME!: featureresignation@gmail.com
well thank u sir, i thought it came together quite nicely. it's funny, i had no idea what i was writing really until it was done... strange how things work.
So I just woke up, fixed my coffee, checked my mail, and listened to all of your music in one sitting; I must say that I enjoyed all of it. Congratulations on creating a completely listenable album. That's something that most mainstream pop star money makers seem to be incapable of lol. If that statement isn't reassuring, I don't know what to tell you, other than keep it real.
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