Tag: Brad Byrd Mental Photograph

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

 

Brad Byrd is a Los Angeles-based indie rock/indie folk singer/songwriter, who after years of suffering through alcohol addiction and depression, started his music career in earnest in 2003 and since then he’s received attention both locally and nationally with teh release of his first two full-length albums — 2005’s The Ever Changing Picture and 2011’s Mental Photograph. Building upon a growing profile, Byrd released a string of singles collaborating with Warren Huart, and he had his music appear in TV shows including  The New Girl, Happy Endings, American Housewife, Ben & Kate, and Keeping Up with the Kardashians. Additionally, he’s shared stages with Bobby Long, Mike Doughty, Son Volt‘s Jay Farrar, Jurassic 5 and others. Now, if you’ve been frequenting this site for some time, you may recall that I wrote about “1000 Pink Balloons” off Byrd’s third, full-length album Highest Mountain, a soulful and introspective that focuses on self-discovery and the strength of letting go centered around a catchy hook that sort of recalled The Church.

Interestingly, the first bit of new material from Byrd since the release of Highest Mountain is a slow-burning, atmospheric take on one of my favorite Cure songs “Lovesong” that manages to retain the song’s aching longing while giving it a subtle country vibe.

 

 

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Brad Byrd is a Los Angeles-based indie rock/indie folk singer/songwriter, who after years of suffering through alcohol addiction and depression, started his music career in earnest in 2003. Since then, he’s received attention both locally and nationally for his off-kilter, hook-driven and soulful songwriting over the course of his two full-length efforts, 2005’s The Ever Changing Picture, 2011’s Mental Photograph and a string of singles in which he worked with Warren Huart, who has worked with The Fray and Aerosmith. Adding to a growing profile, Byrd has had his music appear in a number of TV shows including The New Girl, Happy Endings, American Housewife, Ben & Kate, and Keeping Up with the Kardashians — and he’s shared stages with Bobby Long, Mike Doughty, Son Volt‘s Jay Farrar, Jurassic 5 and others.

Byrd’s third full-length album Highest Mountain was co-produced by the Los Angeles, CA based singer/songwriter and Jim Kimbrough, a member of indie rock trio Walt Mink, who has produced Tenacious D, and it’s not only Byrd’s first recorded output in over 6 years, the album may also be among his most personal work to date, as the album thematically focuses on both self-discovery and Byrd reconnecting with his roots. Highest Mountain‘s latest single “1000 Pink Balloons”  is a jangling and achingly soulful and introspective track that focuses on self-discovery and the strength in letting go; but with repeated listens, the single reveals a thoughtful and provocative singer/songwriter, who makes writing a catchy hook seem effortless while nodding at the work of The Church.