| Brighter Later –– The Wolves (March 8, 2013) |
Brighter Later — The Wolves
Location: Melbourne, Victoria, Australia 
Album release: March 8, 2013
Record Label: Independent/Gaga Digi
Duration: 41:25
Tracks:
01. All The World (5:36)
02. The Woods (Lead single from 'The Wolves') (4:48)
03. All The Great Lakes (4:19)
04. Come And Go (3:55)
05. Magnolia (4:33)
06. Slow Roller (3:15)
07. Satellite (3:49)
08. Another Day (4:03)
09. Long Way Home (3:14)
10. Holy Water (3:53)
Members:
–– Jaye Kranz (songwriter, vocals, guitar)
–– Virginia Bott (bass, backing vocals)
–– Sean Albers (drums)
–– Patrick Dunn (sampling, mysterious things)
Ξ Song "The Woods" released December 16, 2012
Website: http://brighterlater.net/ / Small Werld: http://smallwerld.com/music/brighter-later/
Bandcamp: http://brighterlater.bandcamp.com/album/the-wolves
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/brighterlatermusic
General director: Fulcrum Music // Ian Bevington // // (+61) 400 177 754
________________________________________________________________
REVIEW
Ξ The genesis of Brighter Later and their quietly remarkable debut album The Wolves came a while ago in New Orleans, where songwriter, writer and radio producer Jaye Kranz holed up a couple of years, spinning blues records and teaching herself boogie piano. Kranz had just left New York, suddenly and impulsively, after realising she needed to start playing music again –– a conviction that only got stronger down south. Ξ Eventually, the same desire drew Kranz back to her native Australia, where she studied music and wrote 'a good many songs'.
Ξ As these songs started to germinate into an album, Kranz began working with bass player Virginia Bott, forming the duo Ruben Montane. Working with Kranz's material, they began playing live in a band that now includes keyboardist Alex Landragin and drummer Sean Albers. Finally, when they decided it was time to record, Kranz set up shop in The Chalk Horse, a converted church in Melbourne's west which doubles both as an underground house-concert venue and her home. The band has now emerged with a new name, Brighter Later, and an intricate and beautiful debut album.
Ξ Prior to recording of the album, Kranz had done a lot of things: written and published fiction, worked in radio, penned songs all over the world –– behind the hum of plastics factory in the middle east; by freight tracks in Louisiana; singing to empty wharf sheds. One thing she hadn't done, however, was engineer music. Despite this, Kranz decided to take a DIY approach and self-produce Brighter Later's debut. It was a decision she says set her on a steep learning curve, but was ultimately the right one, allowing her to follow her own intuition in incarnating the songs, and allowing the songs in turn to decide the direction the album would take.
Ξ 'One of the advantages was not even having a rule book to throw out,' Kranz says. Mistakes were made along the way, but in the end, many proved fortuitous. 'Some of those mistakes gave the album its own sound, or forced me to work around gaps in knowledge that meant I arrived at things a little differently.'
Ξ The Wolves doesn't sound like a self-produced record, any more than it sounds like a band's debut. It's an intoxicating, enveloping piece of music, beautifully written and played. The Wolves radiates an effortless, half-lit intimacy; listening to it, it's hard not to feel like you've stumbled, late at night, upon a hushed, private performance somewhere.
Ξ Each of the album's ten tracks is wonderfully unhurried, exerting a magnetic pull via subtle, layered instrumentation and stately vocal harmonies. Every sound on the album has its place, yet the songs retain the immediacy and aliveness of live recording, revealing, at close listen, more than a few welcome accidents. Throughout, Kranz and Bott demonstrate a sophisticated and sure handling of tone and dynamics, a restraint and understatement that squares the focus firmly on Kranz's enchanting songs.
Ξ The first single, The Woods, begins with a sprightly, wordless chant before retreating into a spare and stately mid-section, Kranz coaxing out gorgeous hooks over a pared back arrangement that builds to a luminous finale, the reprised chant recalling the best moments of Beach House. The swooning All the Great Lakes is built on a slow, undulating melody, Kranz's silvery voice emerging above a bed of gauzy harmonies, synths and reverbed guitar to gently devastating effect, 'like a hymn summoned dimly from a dream' (Doug Wallen, Mess+Noise].
Ξ Second single Come and Go, also out now, begins with just an acoustic guitar and Kranz's multi-tracked voice, the spry verse melody giving way to a lush and rousing chorus.
Ξ The Wolves was mostly played by Kranz, but features contributions from Bott (who helped produce the album) and Alex Landgragin, and guest turns by Pony Face's Simon Bailey, ARIA-winning producer Shane O'Mara, drumming iconoclast Cameron Potts (Cuba is Japan, Ninetynine) and engineer Casey Rice (Dirty Three). The album was mixed with Andy Stewart (Gotye, CW Stoneking).
Ξ Like all genuinely original music, The Wolves doesn't lend itself to easy genre categorisations. It has certain musical antecedents –– the hazy swoon of Mazzy Star, the breathy spell of early Cat Power –– but sits firmly in its own world. Though only one album in, Brighter Later have found a sound that is indelibly theirs: expansive, cinematic, aching and sincere in equal measure.
Ξ After a long and careful gestation, on The Wolves, Brighter Later have appeared, fully formed, as a hauntingly original new voice in Australian independent music. Ξ (http://www.digi.gaga.com.au/brighter-later/)
________________________________________________________________
Ξ "A solid and bewitching set, 'The Wolves' is a beautiful dreamy collection of indie-pop. [Kranz] has one of the most peculiar and most beautiful voices in Australian music. Add in a soft chanted opening melody, a slow steady drum beat, and harmonious hushed choruses and you have the perfect entry into Brighter Later’s mysterious and enchanting world." –– Tone Deaf
Ξ "Some of the most beautiful music I've ever heard.. If you like music you can imagine to, then this is for you" –– Indie Shuffle
In french:
Ξ Un duo féminin australien proposant de l'indie pop légère et invitant à la rêverie. A découvrir.
________________________________________________________________
THE WOLVES –– REVIEWS:
Ξ "The Wolves is .. nothing short of a masterpiece." –– The Music
Ξ "Jaye Kranz has arrived with a fully formed vision of pastoral, swooping dreampop. In a word: sophisticated" –– 4/5 The Herald Sun
Ξ "A solid and bewitching set, The Wolves is a beautiful dreamy collection of indie-pop. [Kranz] has one of the most peculiar and most beautiful voices in Australian music. Add in a soft chanted opening melody, a slow steady drum beat, and harmonious hushed choruses and you have the perfect entry into Brighter Later’s mysterious and enchanting world. " –– Tone Deaf
Ξ "This debut collection by Melbourne's Brighter Later could be the pencil sketches of a masterpiece." –– 4/5 Chris Martin, Sydney Morning Herald
Ξ "Some of the most beautiful music I've ever heard. If you like music you can imagine to, then this is for you." " –– Indie Shuffle
Ξ "Elegantly arranged universe .. carefully laid hooks working slow magic." –– Rolling Stone
Ξ "Hearing [The Wolves'] opening track ‘All The World’ is as much like experiencing weather as listening to music. The overall sensation is rich and soothing and I am drawn closer to the sound as seconds lapse into minutes and songs slowly model themselves into a record.
Ξ There are many notable tunes on this album, ‘The Woods’ and ‘All The Great Lakes’ boast choruses that many songwriters would give half an arm to have penned] but it is moments –– a rhodes hook, a repeated vocal phrase, a soft percussive flourish –– rather than songs, that define the steady and cohesive landscape of The Wolves. The real craft in the Brighter Later sound lies in the skilful and, dare I say, elegant choices of what to feature and what to let blend. The subtlety employed in this selection process exhibits an almost culinary finesse and suggests, to my ears, a painstaking [in its best sense] recording and mixing process.
Ξ Comparisons, for those who need them, could be drawn with the gentler side of The Velvet Underground, the deluxe swoon pop of Mazzy Star or even the lush sonic washes of Underground Lovers, but in talking about The Wolves I felt little urge to discuss genres or make comparisons. This album stands up on its own as a delightful listen." –– 4/5, The Orange Press
Ξ "This is an album of tracks that should be shared .. to make sure everyone and anyone firstly knows who Brighter Later are, and secondly that they have an absolute gem of an album here. This is indeed an album that not only should be listened to in the dark, dimly lit hours but pretty much anytime and every time you get a chance." –– Your Music Radar
Ξ Photo: At the Byron Theatre, Martha Wainwright Tour 2013.
Ξ Photograph: Thomas Oliver (Something From The Scene). –– Jaye Kranz a Virginia Bott / Martha Wainwright Tour (Brighter Lighter support)
________________________________________________________________
| Brighter Later –– The Wolves (2013) |
Brighter Later — The Wolves
Location: Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Album release: March 8, 2013
Record Label: Independent/Gaga Digi
Duration: 41:25
Tracks:
01. All The World (5:36)
02. The Woods (Lead single from 'The Wolves') (4:48)
03. All The Great Lakes (4:19)
04. Come And Go (3:55)
05. Magnolia (4:33)
06. Slow Roller (3:15)
07. Satellite (3:49)
08. Another Day (4:03)
09. Long Way Home (3:14)
10. Holy Water (3:53)
Members:
–– Jaye Kranz (songwriter, vocals, guitar)
–– Virginia Bott (bass, backing vocals)
–– Sean Albers (drums)
–– Patrick Dunn (sampling, mysterious things)
Ξ Song "The Woods" released December 16, 2012
Website: http://brighterlater.net/ / Small Werld: http://smallwerld.com/music/brighter-later/
Bandcamp: http://brighterlater.bandcamp.com/album/the-wolves
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/brighterlatermusic
General director: Fulcrum Music // Ian Bevington // // (+61) 400 177 754
________________________________________________________________
REVIEW
Ξ The genesis of Brighter Later and their quietly remarkable debut album The Wolves came a while ago in New Orleans, where songwriter, writer and radio producer Jaye Kranz holed up a couple of years, spinning blues records and teaching herself boogie piano. Kranz had just left New York, suddenly and impulsively, after realising she needed to start playing music again –– a conviction that only got stronger down south. Ξ Eventually, the same desire drew Kranz back to her native Australia, where she studied music and wrote 'a good many songs'.
Ξ As these songs started to germinate into an album, Kranz began working with bass player Virginia Bott, forming the duo Ruben Montane. Working with Kranz's material, they began playing live in a band that now includes keyboardist Alex Landragin and drummer Sean Albers. Finally, when they decided it was time to record, Kranz set up shop in The Chalk Horse, a converted church in Melbourne's west which doubles both as an underground house-concert venue and her home. The band has now emerged with a new name, Brighter Later, and an intricate and beautiful debut album.
Ξ Prior to recording of the album, Kranz had done a lot of things: written and published fiction, worked in radio, penned songs all over the world –– behind the hum of plastics factory in the middle east; by freight tracks in Louisiana; singing to empty wharf sheds. One thing she hadn't done, however, was engineer music. Despite this, Kranz decided to take a DIY approach and self-produce Brighter Later's debut. It was a decision she says set her on a steep learning curve, but was ultimately the right one, allowing her to follow her own intuition in incarnating the songs, and allowing the songs in turn to decide the direction the album would take.
Ξ 'One of the advantages was not even having a rule book to throw out,' Kranz says. Mistakes were made along the way, but in the end, many proved fortuitous. 'Some of those mistakes gave the album its own sound, or forced me to work around gaps in knowledge that meant I arrived at things a little differently.'
Ξ The Wolves doesn't sound like a self-produced record, any more than it sounds like a band's debut. It's an intoxicating, enveloping piece of music, beautifully written and played. The Wolves radiates an effortless, half-lit intimacy; listening to it, it's hard not to feel like you've stumbled, late at night, upon a hushed, private performance somewhere.
Ξ Each of the album's ten tracks is wonderfully unhurried, exerting a magnetic pull via subtle, layered instrumentation and stately vocal harmonies. Every sound on the album has its place, yet the songs retain the immediacy and aliveness of live recording, revealing, at close listen, more than a few welcome accidents. Throughout, Kranz and Bott demonstrate a sophisticated and sure handling of tone and dynamics, a restraint and understatement that squares the focus firmly on Kranz's enchanting songs.
Ξ The first single, The Woods, begins with a sprightly, wordless chant before retreating into a spare and stately mid-section, Kranz coaxing out gorgeous hooks over a pared back arrangement that builds to a luminous finale, the reprised chant recalling the best moments of Beach House. The swooning All the Great Lakes is built on a slow, undulating melody, Kranz's silvery voice emerging above a bed of gauzy harmonies, synths and reverbed guitar to gently devastating effect, 'like a hymn summoned dimly from a dream' (Doug Wallen, Mess+Noise].
Ξ Second single Come and Go, also out now, begins with just an acoustic guitar and Kranz's multi-tracked voice, the spry verse melody giving way to a lush and rousing chorus.
Ξ The Wolves was mostly played by Kranz, but features contributions from Bott (who helped produce the album) and Alex Landgragin, and guest turns by Pony Face's Simon Bailey, ARIA-winning producer Shane O'Mara, drumming iconoclast Cameron Potts (Cuba is Japan, Ninetynine) and engineer Casey Rice (Dirty Three). The album was mixed with Andy Stewart (Gotye, CW Stoneking).
Ξ Like all genuinely original music, The Wolves doesn't lend itself to easy genre categorisations. It has certain musical antecedents –– the hazy swoon of Mazzy Star, the breathy spell of early Cat Power –– but sits firmly in its own world. Though only one album in, Brighter Later have found a sound that is indelibly theirs: expansive, cinematic, aching and sincere in equal measure.
Ξ After a long and careful gestation, on The Wolves, Brighter Later have appeared, fully formed, as a hauntingly original new voice in Australian independent music. Ξ (http://www.digi.gaga.com.au/brighter-later/)
________________________________________________________________
Ξ "A solid and bewitching set, 'The Wolves' is a beautiful dreamy collection of indie-pop. [Kranz] has one of the most peculiar and most beautiful voices in Australian music. Add in a soft chanted opening melody, a slow steady drum beat, and harmonious hushed choruses and you have the perfect entry into Brighter Later’s mysterious and enchanting world." –– Tone Deaf
Ξ "Some of the most beautiful music I've ever heard.. If you like music you can imagine to, then this is for you" –– Indie Shuffle
In french:
Ξ Un duo féminin australien proposant de l'indie pop légère et invitant à la rêverie. A découvrir.
________________________________________________________________
THE WOLVES –– REVIEWS:
Ξ "The Wolves is .. nothing short of a masterpiece." –– The Music
Ξ "Jaye Kranz has arrived with a fully formed vision of pastoral, swooping dreampop. In a word: sophisticated" –– 4/5 The Herald Sun
Ξ "A solid and bewitching set, The Wolves is a beautiful dreamy collection of indie-pop. [Kranz] has one of the most peculiar and most beautiful voices in Australian music. Add in a soft chanted opening melody, a slow steady drum beat, and harmonious hushed choruses and you have the perfect entry into Brighter Later’s mysterious and enchanting world. " –– Tone Deaf
Ξ "This debut collection by Melbourne's Brighter Later could be the pencil sketches of a masterpiece." –– 4/5 Chris Martin, Sydney Morning Herald
Ξ "Some of the most beautiful music I've ever heard. If you like music you can imagine to, then this is for you." " –– Indie Shuffle
Ξ "Elegantly arranged universe .. carefully laid hooks working slow magic." –– Rolling Stone
Ξ "Hearing [The Wolves'] opening track ‘All The World’ is as much like experiencing weather as listening to music. The overall sensation is rich and soothing and I am drawn closer to the sound as seconds lapse into minutes and songs slowly model themselves into a record.
Ξ There are many notable tunes on this album, ‘The Woods’ and ‘All The Great Lakes’ boast choruses that many songwriters would give half an arm to have penned] but it is moments –– a rhodes hook, a repeated vocal phrase, a soft percussive flourish –– rather than songs, that define the steady and cohesive landscape of The Wolves. The real craft in the Brighter Later sound lies in the skilful and, dare I say, elegant choices of what to feature and what to let blend. The subtlety employed in this selection process exhibits an almost culinary finesse and suggests, to my ears, a painstaking [in its best sense] recording and mixing process.
Ξ Comparisons, for those who need them, could be drawn with the gentler side of The Velvet Underground, the deluxe swoon pop of Mazzy Star or even the lush sonic washes of Underground Lovers, but in talking about The Wolves I felt little urge to discuss genres or make comparisons. This album stands up on its own as a delightful listen." –– 4/5, The Orange Press
Ξ "This is an album of tracks that should be shared .. to make sure everyone and anyone firstly knows who Brighter Later are, and secondly that they have an absolute gem of an album here. This is indeed an album that not only should be listened to in the dark, dimly lit hours but pretty much anytime and every time you get a chance." –– Your Music Radar
Ξ Photo: At the Byron Theatre, Martha Wainwright Tour 2013.
Ξ Photograph: Thomas Oliver (Something From The Scene). –– Jaye Kranz a Virginia Bott / Martha Wainwright Tour (Brighter Lighter support)
________________________________________________________________