Sponsored link
Thursday, March 28, 2024

Sponsored link

Arts + CultureMusicNew Music: Brijean's lovely 'Feelings' updates mellow disco flair...

New Music: Brijean’s lovely ‘Feelings’ updates mellow disco flair with cool-out confidence

After all we've been through, the perfect record for a cold one in your right hand and a cute one on your left.

When Brijean, the collaborative project from Brijean Murphy and Doug Stuart, released its 2019 debut mini album Walkie Talkie, it carried the feeling of a hazy heater. I’m serious. Every time the record came on, in any type of venue, dance floors would assemble like Voltron. Who could be mad at that? Better yet, what local or national band still had that type of pull? 

Tropicalia expansiveness, house music posture, and ’70s mellow disco flair: Brijean is that stretch. Reminiscent of those yesterday/tomorrow outfits. Dr Buzzard’s Original Savannah Band comes to mind, aesthetically. This Oakland-based duo presents a tasteful symmetry between modernism and sentimentality. (Read Daniel Bromfield’s interview with Brijean here.)

But for me it was always their cool-out selections. The joints between the jams. Those intimate transitory exchanges where Murphy’s voice coos down into that pitter-patter, Astrud Gilberto-remote latitude—slow-moving, deep-feeling hypnosis. It’s that type of lavishness, full of chakras aligning enchantment, that few bands today barely touch. 

After 11 months of grim grief, taking joy every- and anywhere you can find it this spring seems to be a wise choice. Feelings, Brijean’s debut release on the “transcending” Ghostly International label, is a good place to start. The duo makes the expansive jump by augmenting that luxurious mood with sure-footed presence. 

While Brijean still builds off Murphy’s foundational influences of Latin soul and jazz—she’s an accomplished DJ and one of Oakland’s most in-demand indie percussionists—it’s her voice and enunciation that hovers above the record this time. She speaks… not slowly, but at a reduced pace, with Goddess reserve, no matter the tempo.

You can hear her confidence rising throughout the new record, right from the bouncing disco-ball coziness of lead-off “Day Dreaming”: the “Do you need what I need too” lyric gliding with affirmation. Murphy’s voice is not asking, it assuring.

Murphy refers to the approach as “romancing the psyche,” sure I’ll buy that. Matter fact, I’ll buy anything she’s selling underneath those aquatic swooshes, languid energy redirections, blissful grooves, and loaded-up bossa nova touches.

When referring to “Feelings” as one of your fave records this year to friends, do me a favor. Skip the Captain No Fun genre police blather. Especially all the purple pants terms. Don’t even think about dropping that “Post-Balearic pop” yammer.

Life is hard, fleeting for some these days, so let’s keep it cherry. Just sway to the alluring mood stretched out over 32 minutes with a cold one in your right hand, and a cute one on your left. Get all into it. Maximizing on that gallant promenade, two-stepping on the doughy pockets of bump. (That’s Bay Area music hero Chaz Bear in the engineering booth.)

Feelings is out Friday on Ghostly International records.

48 Hills welcomes comments in the form of letters to the editor, which you can submit here. We also invite you to join the conversation on our FacebookTwitter, and Instagram

John-Paul Shiver
John-Paul Shiverhttps://www.clippings.me/channelsubtext
John-Paul Shiver has been contributing to 48 Hills since 2019. His work as an experienced music journalist and pop culture commentator has appeared in the Wire, Resident Advisor, SF Weekly, Bandcamp Daily, PulpLab, AFROPUNK, and Drowned In Sound.

Sponsored link

Featured

Bilal Mahmood puffed up his resume—and the Chron doesn’t seem to care

Neuroscientists say he's not a 'neuroscientist' (he's not an 'economist,' either)—but the dailies still let his claims stand without challenge.

102-year-old heroine Betty Reid Soskin’s journey premieres on Bay Area stage

Writings and songs by the nation's oldest park ranger and longtime activist form base of 'Sign My Name To Freedom.'

With Castro Theatre out, massive Frameline LGBTQ+ film fest gets creative

New executive director Allegra Madsen takes on fresh challenges with an agile attitude—and innovative locations.

More by this author

Seattle’s storied KEXP tunes in to the Bay: here’s what to expect

Radio station's chief programming officer shares what's on their dial.

Under the Stars: Forget Macy’s—look to our musical ecosystem for SF’s revival

Lessons of Sweater Funk. Plus: 4D, Norah Jones, CALIsthenics, Nubian Twist, and more music to buoy your mood

Noise Pop rewind: So, how did the giant music fest do this year?

Surging local talent, national praise, unusual venues—and a couple suggestions for next year from our music critic
Sponsored link

You might also likeRELATED