Johnluke – Denial (2026)
While you might find yourself humming along and singing lyrics without noticing, Johnluke’s music is profound, poignant, and unafraid to capture the spirit, heart and thoughts behind our reality; it’s easy and light, but also deep and contemplative. Today, we take a gander at his most recent release, ‘Denial’.
Produced with Talvs and Pedro Rafael, ‘Denial’ is Johnluke’s second step into 2026 following ‘Angry In The Moment’. Maintaining a likeness to acts like Mumford and Sons and Paolo Nutini, ‘Denial’ flits along the line between folk-rock and indie-folk, but with a shiver of indie-rock seemingly peeping from the background. The guitars keep a melody looping, with a simplistic, acoustic Irish folk tone running in its groove; however, and this is for me, it’s the crashing of the drums that sits heavily in the arrangement. Thudding and pulsating, it’s the element that truly punches the live energy of Johnluke’s music from the streaming platform to right before my eyes, sending the raw power of a live show down my spine.
Blending beautifully with a folk-filled swoop of percussion and guitar, I can imagine ‘Denial’ being performed somewhere as grand as a folk festival or somewhere as simple as the pub down the road on open mic night. The drum keeps pace, and Johnluke’s rich, obscure vocals ring as an anchor holding you close with music rushing past your ears.
Each of Johnluke’s singles has a particular charm about it, aligning the theme with the pace of the song, the range of the song, or the effect of the song; ‘Denial’ is the same. Johnluke shares that he “wrote ‘Denial’ about that constant feeling of constantly trying to stay strong when you’re slowly and quietly drowning in your own thoughts.” Oddly enough, that desire to keep on, keeping on is evident in the bold lyrics, and the possible loss of footing and falling blazes across with that drum thudding in your head, kicking at your feet, and taking you over without realising it.
Sincere, sentimental and heartfelt, ‘Denial’ is a song brimming with raw emotion in an edible sonic package. We spoke with Johnluke about his album, Comical Romance, Vol 1, last year, and perhaps there’s a Vol. 2 on the horizon? I truly hope so.
Find out more about Johnluke on his official website, X, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube and Spotify.
Listen to more folk-rock music on The Other Side Reviews Folk Rock playlist:
