Neo Brightwell is a country artist and singer-songwriter. He has a rustic and raw style that exposes moments of vulnerability in compelling ways. Which especially works well for his latest album, ‘An American Reckoning’. The collection has that vintage country effect, sparked by luminous instrumentals and warm baritones. We see moments of blues that streak the sound delightfully. ‘The Joke’s on the Devil’ is a song about an undertaker who has a great darkness and a strength to overcome it all with a severe style. The artist tells us a tale of how he does it all with glitter and shine, like a party, with effortless style. The soundscape flits through these frames, adding to the energy and shaping the flow.
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The collection is a self-portrait of the protagonist. It pulls in so many dimensions of the human experience, so many emotions. Songs like ‘The Sirens Sang My Name Wrong’ and ‘The Silence Broke Its Spine’ have deep evocations that blend reflective spaces with melancholy. It makes you feel profound in your feelings, relationships, and sense of self. The instrumentals are orchestrated with simplicity. You won’t see pretentious layers. Just a heart on a sleeve. Raw and real.
There’s a lot of poetic influence across the tracks. Sometimes it all feels a little biblical. In ‘They Don’t Get the Last Verse’, the music feels like a hung cinematic scene. In that one frame, you percolate, undulate, and find a spectacular depth that you want more of. The melodies are static. There’s nothing drifting in the backdrop. Just space and sound. In ‘No Applause, Just Fire’, we see a melodic flow, a feel-good song that you can follow along. But in ‘The Church I Built from Fire’, the raw country emerges again. In the charisma, in the baritones, in the landscapes that they evoke, and the instrumentals that swirl around it.
‘More than Just a Name’ is a grand song that blends chorales with country in a way that sends you back to retro America. Finally we have ‘Order Isn’t Innocence’, a track that is a conversation between the guitar and the vocals. Two old buddies, just sitting around and stringing along a dialogue that feels familiar, opinionated and riveting. The backdrop is staunchly country. It’s in the atmosphere at the point, at the end of the album.
The collection is delightful, showcasing so many musical moments and takes in ways that make you think, imagine, and wonder about a whole new culture. If this is your first exposure to this world, it’s the best way. Listen Now!
The album is available for streaming on popular sites like Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube Music, and Amazon Music!
You can listen to ‘An American Reckoning’ by Neo Brightwell here –
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