Brad Byrd
As heard on KCSN 88.5FM LA
PopMatters: premiere
American Songwriter: premiere
"Kay Hanley joins Brad Byrd on 'American Life', This is one of the prettiest songs of the year and definitely worth your time" - Ryan's Smashing Life
Over the course of his career, Brad Byrd has written songs that firmly occupy the rarely-explored middle ground between indie rock and alt-country. He's a genre-spanning musician, carving out a diverse sound fueled by melody, detailed storytelling, and the instincts of a journeyman songwriter who began making Americana music long before the genre had a name. Over the course of his career, he’s shared the stage with a variety of musicians, such as Jay Farrar, Mike Doughty, They Might Be Giants, Everlast, Lee DeWyze, and Family of the Year, showcasing undeniable versatility and commitment to his craft. With his fourth album, Phases, Byrd takes a look backwards, reflecting upon the lessons learned throughout his ongoing journey.
On Phases, the muse leads Brad Byrd back to himself. A reflective album filled with textured guitar tones, atmospheric arrangements, and his widest sonic range to date, Phases zooms its focus into various points in Byrd's life, with each song examining the trials and triumphs of that particular moment. On the acoustic "Sunset Girl," Byrd returns to his early adulthood in New York City, singing an ethereal ballad about lost love in the big city. He heads back to Massachusetts with "1982," a nostalgic rock song about simpler times, then travels to Hollywood for "Vampires," a haunted-sounding track about dealing with the temptations of a certain west coast city that can suck out your very soul. By the time he duets with fellow Massachusetts native Kay Hanley on "American Life," Byrd has brought the listener full-circle, no longer focusing upon a bygone memory but, instead, spotlighting the challenges and controversies of the politically-charged present. Together, the 10 songs from Phases sketch a picture not only of Byrd himself, but of the world he inhabits, too.
The journey began in Massachusetts, where Byrd was raised in a creative household. His father and younger brother were both musicians. Looking to further the family tradition, Byrd became a multi-instrumentalist at a young age, playing drums one minute and strumming the guitar the next. He was writing songs by his late teens, inspired in part by the classic sounds — from Beatles records to Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young hits to the Cure — that had filled the Byrd home during his younger years. - Andrew Leahey (2019) (Continue reading bio HERE)
RIYL: Son Volt, Andrew Bird, Kurt Vile, Joseph Arthur, Jeff Tweety, Pete Yorn
TRY: #1, 2, 5, 8 & 7 (feat. Kay Hanley)
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