So… is John Gallagher Jr. a singer who can act, or an actor who can sing?

The answer, of course, is “Yes.”

As an actor, Gallagher is best known for his roles in major Broadway productions including Spring Awakening, American Idiot, and the recent Avett Brothers musical Swept Away. Many will also recognize him from his supporting role in HBO’s The Newsroom.

In reality, though, Gallagher had initially envisioned himself as a rock and roller, before acting evolved into his main gig. It wasn’t until 2016’s Six-Day Hurricane EP that Gallagher stepped out to present his bona fides as a singer-songwriter in the rock / Americana vein. At the time, this writer and many others were duly impressed with his chops as both songwriter and performer.

It took another eight years—and a Mellencamp-style change from “Johnny Gallagher” to his acting moniker of John Gallagher Jr.—before his debut full-length Goodbye Or Something arrived in 2024, spawning two years of periodic live dates.

Goodbye Or Something was explicitly a breakup record; Gallagher’s new five-song EP Almost OK seems to chart the aftermath.

Opener and lead single “Tough Spit” is the exception that proves the rule, a bitter Elvis Costello-tinged tirade / lament addressing the free-floating anxiety felt by anyone in America still paying attention to the state of things. In this one case, the breakup Gallagher is suffering through seems to be the country’s split from both democracy and rational thought. 

He gets back to the subject at hand on “Never Leave,” a fast-paced acoustic-and-synth number whose narrator is navigating the passage from coupled to single, and it’s a bumpy ride: “…this town is haunted by all the ghosts of all the yous from all the befores / And if you love somebody, set ’em free / Unless that somebody is me.”

Both songs serve to highlight the contributions of Gallagher’s sterling supporting cast. This EP was co-produced by band members Oscar Albis Rodriguez (lead guitar) and Zach Jones (drums/vocals), with Tim Lappin (bass) and fellow Grand Phony artist Hannah Winkler (keys / vocals) filling out a tight, road-tested lineup that’s been backing Gallagher on live dates for the past two years.

Next up, the mid-tempo “All This Changing” finds our broken-up-with narrator going through a patch of resentment and cynicism, driven by hurt and loneliness. Winkler’s harmony vocals underscore the message as Gallagher sings “I’m so sick of starting over / I’m old enough to know that nothing lasts,” though there’s a hint of sunshine at the close: “Baby, appreciate you waiting / And wading with me through all this changing / And one day the sun will shine and I’ll say / ‘Hey, how about that? I’m feeling almost ok.’”

Our narrator turns the corner on “Mitsuko,” a road song about falling for someone right before leaving town. There’s a nice exuberance and build to it as he tries to convey the intensity of his crush: “I don’t want to overwhelm you, don’t want to scare you away / But tomorrow’s just a rumor and I don’t want to waste another day.” The brief EP closes with “Lido Lane,” a gentle, dreamy number with a hint of Jeff Tweedy in its gauzy patina.

Almost OK is little more than a snapshot, to be sure, but one with enough substance to carry real weight and dimension. John Gallagher Jr. is a strong songwriter and gifted performer whose authentic passion for making music shines through again and again. Here’s hoping there’s more to come.

Rating: B+

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