Brijean’s new album Feelings is an exciting lush and layered sophomore effort. Brijean is a collaborative effort between Brijean Murphy and Doug Stuart. Murphy plays percussion in a plethora of different projects including U.S. Girls, Poolside, and Toro y Moi.
Feelings was inspired by the diverse music of Murphy’s childhood, she was immersed in jazz, Latin, and soul. Those influences permeate through every single track — each individual song is lathered with synths and percussion while Murphy’s airily croons intimately above.
On ‘Day Dreaming’ the albums opening track, the song begins with quick percussion and then Murphy sings over a layer of synths “Day dreaming, about you”. The song is an optimistic love song, but much like the entirety of the album, it evokes notions of warmer and hopefully better days ahead.
‘Lathered in Gold’ is smooth and seductive. The pacing of the song is a little slower, but the layered synths and percussion are still present. The song wraps up just shy of the three-minute mark, but not before it transports the listener to a flashy Miami club owners’ backroom, where the wallpaper is a continuous roll of picturesque palm trees and Jimmy Carter is president.
‘Feelings’ ends at 11 songs, and each song could be the backdrop to a poolside afternoon sipping Mai Tai’s at a Miami hotel. ‘Feelings’ shows Brijean’s impeccable ability to create lush tropicalia inspired vibes. Brijean released an album fit for the summer months but trust me — ‘Feelings’ will have you dancing in your winter boots as you scan Priceline for cheap flights to Miami.
