Eleni P. Austin
“I’ve got my back to the wall at the door of forever, tried to make my great escape, but my hands can’t find the lever/It seems my mind’s made up but my heart it feels so hollow, the unintended consequence of bitter pills I’ve had to swallow.” That brilliant bit of erudite equivocation comes from the song “Lies,” off Brett Harris’ excellent new album Up In The Air.
Listening to his music, one is transported to those halcyon days of the late ‘60s and early ‘70s when singer-songwriters like Harry Nilsson and Emitt Rhodes took their inspiration from British Invasion bands. It’s easy to presume that Brett Harris grew up listening to those seminal sounds. Ironically, that wasn’t the case.
Brett was raised in a rural town outside Richmond, Virginia. The 33 year old grew up in a family focused on sports. His dad played ball in college and segued into teaching and coaching. There was a piano in the house and his mother would occasionally play hymns. Also, there were old Beatles records, but nothing to play them on.
After being cut from a couple of teams in high school Brett began to teach himself guitar. But it wasn’t until he began attending college at Wake Forrest University that music became a priority. Situated in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, the town, along with nearby Raleigh-Durham is home to a thriving music scene.
In the late ‘70s, Mitch Easter and Chris Stamey formed the Sneakers, when that came apart at the seams, Stamey paired up with Peter Holsapple and started the dB’s. Meanwhile, Mitch built a recording facility in his parents’ garage. Drive-In Studio was where R.E.M. recorded their debut single, “Radio Free Europe” in 1981, along with their Chronic Town EP and first two long-players. Throughout the ‘80s, everyone from Marshall Crenshaw to Game Theory to Suzanne Vega were making records in Winston-Salem.
During college, Brett began to catch up with pop music. Following a crash-course in the essentials, Beatles, Big Star, Stax-Volt and Nick Lowe, he started writing his own songs. In 2008, he released an EP, Yesterday’s News, two years later, his first full-length album, Man Of Few Words arrived. Both received critical acclaim.
That same year, he was recruited for an all-star tribute to Big Star. Jody Stephens, the only living member of Big Star, teamed with Mitch Easter, Chris Stamey, Mike Mills from R.E.M. and assorted Posies, performing the Memphis band’s Third album in its entirety.
When the dB’s reformed in 2012, recording their excellent Falling Off The Sky album, Brett was added to the band’s touring line-up. Each project raised Brett’s profile exponentially. A second EP, whimsically titled Mr. Sunshine arrived in 2015, and now he has just released his second long-player, Up In The Air.
The album kicks into gear with “End Of The Rope.” The opening chord changes (funhouse) mirror the Fab Four’s “If I Needed Someone.” But, the arrangement expands and contracts, blending jaunty piano notes, wheezy organ fills, and soaring, multi-tracked harmonies over a four-on-the-floor beat.
Brett continues to channel the Beatles on both “Shadetree” and “Don’t Look Back.” The former weds Spiky guitars and tip-toe bass lines to a mid-tempo beat. The sanguine “goo goo g’joob” melody is matched by labyrinthine lyrics that offer reproach and reconciliation in the same breath. “I was swinging in the trees listening to a gentle breeze when a thought ran through my mind/Suddenly it seemed to me absurd how a careless solitary word could make you treat me so unkind/It’s a sin how you’re missing the signals I’m sending. A stinging guitar solo echoes his dismay.
A chunky backbeat propels the latter. Phased guitars and plinking piano wrap a gauzy layer around the lush and dreamy melody. The lyrics focus on a brief assignation that seems too good to be true; “I keep seeing starry skies reflected in your darling eyes, but I’m too old and I’m too wise, I see right through your thin disguise/To you it’s just a game, you don’t even know my name, but it’s better off that way ‘cause you’d only blow my cover.”
The best songs here manage the neat trick of sounding timeless. “High Times” feels like a classic AM radio hit, (but not in a “Chevy Van” or “Moonlight Feels Right” way). A languid amalgam of Country and Soul, Brett’s lonesome vocals are buttressed by graceful piano notes, tart guitar licks, horn accents, and vibes. This good old Country comfort could easily sandwich between the ‘Stones “Fool To Cry” and Elton John’s “Don’t Let The Sun Go Down On Me” on the AM radio dial.
Drums beat out a relax-fit “George Of The Jungle” tattoo on “Rumor.” Fluttery keys, stealthy guitar and boomerang bass fills all fall in line. Cryptic lyrics hint at romantic betrayal, but peppery horns on the bridge give the track a Tijuana Brass flavor.
Meanwhile, “Summer Night” feels like the musical love child of Todd Rundgren and Barry White. The breezy, Pure Pop melody belies the story of a brittle break-up, easily summed up by this couplet: “all we are is an empty stare and a conversation we know by heart.” Swooping strings, that echo White’s Love Unlimited Orchestra, plus a treated guitar solo almost cushion the blow.
Other interesting tracks include the rockin’ stroll of “Out Of The Blue. The crisp arrangement juxtaposes a sawing string section with ricochet guitar riffs. The tune originally appeared on the Mr. Sunshine EP.
The aforementioned “Lies,” showcases Brett’s sharp facility with language, even referencing Flannery O’Connor’s classic novel “Wise Blood.” Strumming acoustic guitars collide with sweet electric arpeggios. The see-saw melody powers down on the instrumental break, locking into a syncopated soft-shoe replete with clarinet and tinkling piano. There is a clear cosmic through-line to Harry Nilsson’s winsome “Cuddly Toy” song.
On the title track shang-a-lang guitars intertwine with thrumming bass lines, a tick-tock rhythm and polished piano runs. The lyrics offer a tender declaration of love; “You have seen good, bad and in-between and never given up on all the dreams we’ve shared/So long as I’ve got you, the rest can come unglued it’s up in the air.” The tune is buoyed by Brett’s falsetto croon, which eerily recalls a Nick Lowe deep track called “Heart.”
Up In The Air closes with the kaleidoscopic “Spanish Moss.” Ethereal strings blend with mournful pedal and hushed Gospel-tinged harmonies on this quiet benediction. It’s a wistful finish to a great record.
This is a solo record in name only. Brett is joined by longtime compadres like Jeff Crawford, Tommy Perkinson, Dale Baker, Charles Cleaver, Matt Douglas, Cameron Lee, Scott McCall, James Wallace and Whit Wright. Everyone played a little bit of everything, but horns were provided by Crispin Cioe, Larry Etkin, Bob Funk and Mark Daumen. Daniel Hart added strings, both Skylar Gudasz and Josh Moore furnished harmony vocals.
While Man Of Few Words was vibrant, Brett has added some new colors to his sonic palette. Up In The Air is full of rich textures. For people that feel like the best Rock And Roll was created half a century ago, this album hits all those sweet spots. But it’s definitely Pure Pop for the 21st century.
