Indiana CD

Named after his home state, the major-label debut from the musically gifted Jon McLaughlin showcases the poignant piano balladry and soaring contemporary rock of the young singer/songwriter. Thirteen songs, including "Beautiful Disaster," "Human," "Just Give It Time," and more.

Rating:

INDIANA: THE CROSSROADS OF AMERICA

Jon McLaughlin’s debut displays his astounding skill as a pianist, only to be matched by his sincere songwriting. While many of Indiana’s songs have spiritual nuances, the album contains mainly thoughtful tunes about life and love, showcasing McLaughlin’s gift for penning beautiful word pictures married with gorgeous, accessible melodies and smooth vocals. Take first single “Beautiful Disaster,” which tells the story of young girls everywhere. He profoundly sings, “She’s just the way she is, but no one’s told her that’s OK.”

Indiana opens with “Industry,” a bold statement that reveals his humility, finding McLaughlin pleading for the “industry” to be taken from him if he finds himself in over his head. With a flair for beautiful phrasing, “Human” is another obvious gem: “After all we’re only human/Always fighting what we’re feeling/Hurt instead of healing…/Is there any other reason why we stay instead of leaving.” The music world needs more of this transparent brilliance.

“People” is a remarkable opus to humanity with stunningly intricate instrumentation, while the title track is simple and gracefully picturesque. In contrast, “Anthem for American Teenagers” soars with Switchfoot-esque grandeur. With immense production muscle behind each song, it comes as no surprise that the album was produced by Jamie Houston (Santana, Jessica Simpson) and Greg Wells (Natasha Bedingfield, Rufus Wainwright).

While the general market version of this CD contains the song “Amelia’s Missing” which features mild profanity in its chorus (Yes, a word used repeatedly in the Bible), it is replaced on the Christian market version with what becomes the most spiritually overt song on the album, “Proud Father.”

No matter which Indiana you buy, Jon McLaughlin’s bow is a must for your iPod—one of the strongest debuts this year.

LINDSAY WILLIAMS- CCMMagazine.com

Average Rating:

5 of 5 Reviews Showing:

Reviewed by Mary (TX), September 23, 2008

I love Jon McLaughlin's CD. Smart, relatively safe pop. I would like to point out that he is an amazing songwriter and singer who can craft beautiful songs that will stick with you for awhile. It is also quite refreshing to have a cd that could be considered secular not laden with sexuality and profanity. While I do realize that there is one song on the album that has one minor curse word repeated in the chorus, it is a far cry from the profanity-laden songs of his equal caliber peers, namely Jason Mraz. Personally I think that McLaughlin is a better artist than Mraz, and more safe for the entire family. If you are interested in an artist that is both safe for the whole family and overtly spiritual, and are of equal caliber, try Brandon Heath or Jimmy Needham, both are fantastic. Oh and for those who have a problem with Amelia's Missing, you don't have to buy that version of the album, and make sure you buy your Christian albums at a Christian store to avoid the wrong one. I would like to see a review of Dave Barnes Me & You & The World on here as well, but I fear that the same "it's not Christian enough" comments would be as prevalent.

Reviewed by john stapleton (laramie, wyoming), September 15, 2008

Jon's songwriting and musicianship are excellent on this album. of course, I'm not so sensitive that songs about the real world cause me spiritual fits, so I can enjoy this quality album on an adult level.

Reviewed by Dennis (PA), May 25, 2008

I see others feel the same way I do about this album. There wasn't even an inference to God in any of his songs, plus I was shocked when I heard him swear on the chorus to "Amelia's Missing". "Disappointed" doesn't even begin to describe my feelings on this album. I can't figure out how this can be considered a Christian album.

Reviewed by Jessi(a teenager) (HI), May 14, 2008

I liked his sound and voice but it disappointed me that almost none of his songs talk about the Lord, on the contrary, many of them talk about girls, bars, drinking, etc. Even if he is trying to reach out to the unsaved world, he shouldn't stoop to this.

Reviewed by Tiffany (Hawaii), May 02, 2008

My 13 year old daughter was really excited about purchasing this cd after hearing his music/video on a Christian video show. After buying it, we were all very disappointed to hear him use the words "where the h--- am I gonna find...." WHY would a Christian artist use this kind of terminology in his music??? We were VERY disappointed!

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• Genre >> Rock
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