Brightwood
From Portland, Oregon – the stylings of Brightwood!
This northwest group is, at first taste, easy to listen to. "Wake" features clear, upper-range vocals similar to several other groups of the century’s first decade. But Brightwood seems to separate itself from other groups with interesting drum touches, vocal echo and a softness that is youth under control.
Listeners who are unfamiliar with this group will benefit from listening to "Swan Song," as the players cruise for about a minute than break loose a bit. However, "In Memory" ( The Love Antidote 2006) probably goes further in highlighting what there is about this group that is different. Roll through the selections from Brightwood and the listener will see that young musicians can indeed play several ballads, at a reasonably slow pace, then offer a tune or two at increased speed, so that their CD is not a musical blur. Check out "Surefire" from The Love Antidote to hear a bit more of the interesting drumming that supports Brightwood’s melody.
It should be no surprise to followers of Portland music that Brightwood stood out, even in that musical proving ground. With EP sales in the thousands and a million plays on www.myspace.com, Brightwood became one of the MySpace Top 100.
Tags: indie, music, brightwood, indie music, independent music
February 20th, 2008 at 10:46 am
Well, I visited the myspace page after reading about the band Brightwood. I first listened to “Wake” and enjoyed it a great deal. It is very good and I have to agree that the the upper sound vocals are not overpowering. But the sound is more of the style of a melodic sound.
Moving on to the “Surefire” also was a nice song with easy listening. If you are looking for a band that is more on the easy listening style then this is the band for you.
February 20th, 2008 at 3:22 pm
I’m currently not sure what I think of this band. Typically, I think that they’re better than most, but at the same time, the music is so soft I can imagine falling asleep to it, which isn’t entirely a bad thing. Brightwood is certainly peaceful though, and I like that in a band, so they rate just fine in my book!
February 22nd, 2008 at 12:17 am
The first thing grabbed me was the vocals. I can really get into the laid back style, and lead singer’s voice reminds me a sweet lullaby. If you take away the instrumentals ( which are lovely by the way) and let them go a capella, they would be amazing. My personal favorite is “Sit Still”.