so, today i want to introduce you to brynn andre, a very talented young singer-songwriter who, according to her bio, writes about “the upheaval she faced in Minneapolis after reluctantly unmasking what had become her present-day fiction.” she released her sophomore album, the self-entitled brynn andre this year and i had a chance recently to have a listen to it.

the album isn’t going to blow the lid off your speakers – but i think that’s its purpose. it’s introspective, often filled with self-critical songs that are utterly relatable in many ways. andre examines the intricacies of actions and feelings towards relationships, many unhappy or ill-fated. don’t expect the album to be mopey, though, or whiny – instead, there’s a quiet hush that invites you in to eavesdrop to the inner workings of turmoil, leaving you to listen a little closer to hear the story, rather than tune out to the meanings and merely rock out to the tunes.

although brynn’s calm, lovely vocals may belie a sort of consistency amongst her songs, there’s actually a range of standard singer-songwriter fare (my best) to blues-infused ballads (fire escape and granite) and 3/4 metered stories (such as devil). each song builds upon the last, creating a catalogue of a fairly well constructed documentation of highly charged emotions.

and the lyrics? check out devil, which is such a bittersweet song geared for tragedy: and i saw your devil / pull up a chair / and i’m in so much trouble / because i like you there / you little devil / with your head on my shoulder / this is going to hurt when it’s over. or ocean: the good is gone / as soon as it hits your back / and you tasted fingertip to tongue / as fast as you can / and i wanted to stay / as soon as it runs away / like a river that’s only got power when it rains. or my favorite off the album, homecoming king, which is so very angry and sad all at the same time in just the way a girl who knows she’s making a mistake and still goes through with it anyways is:

there’s a kind of muscle
oh, i’ve never had it in me
but i think you’re made of it
from your forearms to feet
and i’m a stupid girl trying to arm wrestle the homecoming king at the lunch table
and i’m a stupid girl

and we are drunk, in a cab
i’ve got nothing to say

stream it below:

can you resist that hook in the chorus? no? i didn’t think so.

download ocean:

(mp3) ocean by brynn andre

stream the entire album below:

buy brynn andre’s self-entitled album HERE.