#4 - Indiana

#4:
Artist: Jon McLaughlin
Album: Indiana
Released: May 2007

Of course I’m a sucker for a good piano-driven song, but an entire album of them is sometimes enough in and of itself to win my heart. Indiana, the debut album from Jon McLaughlin, is perhaps what you get when you cross the piano rock of Five For Fighting with the energy and personality of a Matt Wertz album. Jon McLaughlin has independently recorded an album and several EPs previously, but this is his first big-time release. Without sounding repetitive, Jon has created an entire album of songs that could be picked out of a crowd as distinctly Jon McLaughlin’s. Notably, Jon did write every song, and he utilizes well the range in which his voice is both passionate and personal. Though many of the songs are simple (yet clever) love songs, Jon sings them with enough flair and gusto to bring you into the relationship instead of giving a distant picture from the outside. Indiana can appeal to a wide range of listeners as it is not strictly limited to any one genre. Jon himself is a Christian, but I have a great deal of respect for his ability to make music that can be not only appreciated, but enjoyed by any audience.