JOSH MCGOVERN Releases Touching New Single And Music Video 'Weight'

Despite two critically acclaimed singles last year, “The Devil Below Me” which when reaching his higher register vocally threw us back to when Hozier hit the music scene back in 2013, and the haunting, acoustic ballad “Love Left Lost,” there is still yet to be a debut album announcement. Instead, multi-talented singer, songwriter and musician Josh McGovern brings us his best song to date, in a similar vein “The Devil Below Me,” entitled “Weight.”

The song opens with McGovern’s notable instrument, his acoustic guitar and an emotionally deep tone reminiscent of Johnny Cash’s 2003 cover of Nine Inch Nails’ “Hurt,” as well as gorgeous, electric lead guitar parts performed in the background with a distant, reverb effect added to his skilful finger-picking, and when he reaches his higher register in Weight’s chorus, you are reminded of how painfully emotional Jeff Buckley’s vocals were on his classic album Grace. Both the piano and bass sections of the song complement each other so well that you are instantly pulled in and captivated by its’ masterful mixing, especially when the cello drops in on Verse 2, adding to Weight’s overall melancholic vibe, that is delivered mainly via the use of minor chords. The Middle 8 cleverly changes tempo, otherwise known as time signature, from 4 by 4 to 3 by 4, in other words think of the famous rhythm of Goo Goo Dolls’ 1998 hit single “Iris” and you’ve got it, as well as losing all instruments in the first half of this brand new section, showcasing the raw talent of McGovern’s painfully sad voice that haunts us deeply, with the help of this stripped-back vibe, then returns to its’ 4 by 4 tempo in the final chorus.

Weight’s official music video, visually is not at all far off from the song’s ghostly, “sadcore”-esque production. Its’ concept involves an old man who is haunted daily by the memory of a woman who he quite obviously once loved, whether it be him dreaming of her screaming “wake up” whilst in a corn field, or the woman passing through rooms of his house. Either way, it is delivered in a very “groundhog day”-like scenario, where eventually the man contemplates suicide, and instead follows the woman he is mourning for out of his house, through the street, and eventually to the corn field he was dreaming of, where they embrace, smile and comfort each other, up to the point where her memory, or possibly even her ghost, has to leave him again. The masterfully directed and edited scenes are fused with small performance sequences of McGovern singing the song soulfully to the camera, a definite must-watch in ROUGH ONLINE's opinion due to the bittersweet concept and realistic acting from its’ characters.

Overall, “Weight” is an exceptional folk song, with deep meaning, and an authentic, profound sadness, because of the simplicity of the song’s music production, which is mainly driven by McGovern’s intense vocals and clean acoustic guitar sound, that will send shivers down your spine, while he sings from the heart. Along with other singers and songwriters such as Dan Owen and Olivier St. Louis, Josh McGovern is one of ROUGH ONLINE's favourites of 2018 so far.