Award-winning actor and musician Johnny Gallagher (better known as John Gallagher Jr.) has released his sophomore album 8th and Jane.
Some people may know Gallagher from his Tony Award-winning performance in Duncan Sheik’s hit musical Spring Awakening in 2007, or his portrayal of the Jesus of Suburbia in the 2010 Broadway adaptation of Green Day’s Grammy-winning rock opera American Idiot.
(Personally, I discovered him through some fine acting work on Tony-winning HBO drama The Newsroom during the 2010s.)
Outside of his many accomplishments in film, television and on Broadway, the Brooklyn-based talent has become known for his rock and folk music. With the release of his first solo album Six Day Hurricane in 2016, Gallagher earned attention of major outlets including Paste and Billboard, and snagged support slots on tour for Anaïs Mitchell and Aaron Lee Tasjan.
On Oct. 1, he released his second single "Wurlitzer in Space," which shows off Gallagher's folkier roots, supplying a trippy, heartfelt ode to his object of affection, floating just beyond his reach.
“'Wurlitzer in Space' is a cosmic ballad about a love so unspoken it can never be requited," Gallagher explains. "It’s a humbling moment to realize that circumstance won’t allow your feelings for someone to be expressed thus rendering the possibility of any union as likely as an impossible feat. I don’t imagine I’ll ever move to Memphis to live in the Graceland Mansion and I think it’s doubtful that my crush will ever travel to the cosmos to play an electric piano in zero gravity but hey, a man can dream."
Earlier this summer, Gallagher shared his lead single "Lost Love," which was first conceived as a grungy anthem created specifically for the live stage. When the lyrics began pouring out, Gallagher realized that the song was coming from a much darker place than he expected.
"It turned into an ominous power anthem about striving to stride a straight line and resist the tempting urge to self-destruct in the face of shaky uncertainty and heartsick anxiety," Gallagher says. "Many of us see romantic relationships come and go, yet seeking out where all that love goes once it’s lost and gone remains a frustratingly unsolvable mystery."
8th and Jane, Johnny’s second record with Thad DeBrock at the knobs, is a short but sweet, 8-song sophomore effort. It serves as a fast and fierce postcard jammed with power pop rock and roll numbers, smoothed out by several soul searching acoustic ballads. An almost tragicomic blend of the rootsy bravado and vulnerable heart-on-sleeve reflection that has become a staple of Johnny’s music.
In 2022, Gallagher will also head to the Berkeley Repertory Theatre to star in the world premiere of Swept Away, a new musical featuring songs by The Avett Brothers.
Track listing:
You Don't Know it Yet
Mark Twain's Initials
Lost Love
Call Me Thursday
Wurlitzer in Space
Give 'em Hell Kid
Snaggletooth
8th and Jane
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