Review and comments
by Alex Ness
June 9 2025
Barely Brother's Records, St. Paul MN A vinyl retailer, offering live music, and refreshments. Appearing May 31, 2025.
BAND 1:
J.Briozo
Genres: Americana, Folk with Rock edges,
Soft Jazz, Alt Country
J.Briozo is a side project of Jeff Crandall, of The Swallows. They are a collective of sorts, and Swallow members play on the projects of one another. I’ve mentioned the Swallows many times, and I am moved by their quality and willingness to go deep in interviews. Jeff Crandall was accompanied by Swallows member lead guitarist Brett Hansen and this appearance featured a performance of two guitars, one electric, the other acoustic.
I’m most often moved in music by the sincerity of it, in the lyrics, in the performance, or in the talents displayed in voice or instrument. As when Billy Corgan snarled in lyrics “Crucify the insincere”, it was the sort of angry youthful voice that I rather identified with, as a person as sedate as someone like me can be. But I've grown older since then, and sincerity is more than that.
Technically speaking, Brett was the whole of the backing vocals, music other than the guitar, and more sounds I can't explain, but added layers to voices, and more. When Jeff sang the lyrics, it was with artist quality of narrative truth. Clear, concise but also, properly emotive in all the right places. It was sincere, truly.
The combination of technical mastery and narrative voice excellence, felt more warm close than too close, and natural or casual rather than forced or formal.
Within the overall context of the J.Briozo vibe, these are songs that find or express feeling of being home, of searching for and finding one's place, and being an independent being within all that invades our thoughts. As such the two performing delivered the music better live, than perhaps on CD. I don't know that I've ever experienced that.
It felt more like honesty about life than most entertainment I’ve experienced.
The rapture of beautiful music slayed me. It offered much, and lifted my ideas and shared thoughts, in a format nearly spiritual in beauty. In the aftermath of this show, my heart and emotions were afire. I'd experienced the beauty of sound, the depth of words, accompanied by a master of the sound, and the narrator's voice cut straight to my heart.
The songs in order:
1. Deep in the Waves:
Staring out on a
great pattern of the mist and waves, the ocean and emotions collide, and
the narrative voice speaks from within the fluid. Moments rising and
then falling, like emotions and ocean tides. An encompassing and
alluring journey of existence, more than anything else.
2.
Broken Bones
: We all grow older, and time has a cost. The mind
struggles with isolation, and loss. A whispered fear, and final
contemplation of the worth and value of love, and relationships. Fights
or struggle lead to mental broken bones. A song with deft lyrics that
describe possible finding one in perfect despair. Getting old, getting
broken by life, isn’t an easy thing, nor is it fun to view.
3.
Beautiful Mess: A work that was emotionally worn on the sleeve, and
soft and sweet. Reminiscent of a song to break up the heavier songs, but
ambushes the heart with a deeper emotive journey. Beautiful, gentle
and kindness in the depths of love or deep like.
4. The Big
Parade:
Welcome to the spectacle and glamor of being in a group,
creating moments to join one to another, rise as one, to serve the
greater "truth" This song is about patriotism, or not, about one for all
and all for one, but not really. Politics is the perfect word to
describe it. And it hits very directly.
5. Blue:
This is about
as beautiful as the insidiousness of Seasonal Affective Disorder can
be, the darker and colder, the more lost and frigid the mind. This is a
song about the utter fight to stay out of depression it can be, to live
where we do, as much as we love this place.
6. Las Cruces
: A
ballad of being intimate and the silence of greater hopes, and a haunted
past. The glory of lyrics
...
"And in the bright, clear sunlight
When we
aren't moved by star shine
Hard lines reveal the truth
Miles and miles
from our youth "
... close in and tell you, listen, as they crack you in the noggin'. And
at this point, it isn't music, it is something playing in the moments of
a life, one you might have lived, or it feels like it in your deep
places. The guitars weave a background that is hopeful and driving, even
as the lyrics ask what do we do to recover from self afflicted
wounds?
7. Star Chaser:
In banter, Jeff and Brett chat that
this song is new, but what the hell, lets do it. But it sounded like
anything but new or unrehearsed... I confess, the ideas and final
meaning were less clear to me as being in awe of the moment, but the
song was powerful in many ways, as it evoked a feeling of warmth and
comfort, or really, being home.
If you
wish to support J.Briozo, go to the addresses below.
Band CampThe Swallows
BAND 2:
The Side Effects
Genre: Punk, Power trio,
Post PunkBrett Hansen Lead Guitar, Brandon Hagemeyer Drums/Percussion, & Sylvia Izabella Bass
BRETT HANSEN’s band, THE SIDE EFFECTS is a power trio
featuring, a bass, guitar and drums, with turns taken being lead
vocalist by Brett and Sylvia.
Aside from all the music I enjoyed, as a young angry feller... British punk and new wave especially, I confess that my main favorite music from my teens to later 20s, all loud, with less pop sympathies as punk. I didn’t do metal, but did do Husker Du, the Magnolias, the Replacements and more. My enjoyment of the Side Effects isn’t a surprise for me. I trust Brett’s skills going in, so there too, I am not surprised that his band was so good.
Now this was an absolute fun ride, and I have no complaint, only... As a stodgy much older man than I was years ago, listening to such driving music for 45 minutes too often might kill me. It was an electric experience.
1. Snakes: Brett Hansen vocals This is a song presented with power about a highly effective speaker of the House... it is amazingly moving, and thoughtful. It presents both a sound and higher level of thought from song 1 compared to most bands I liked of this genre and format so very long ago. But again, I shouldn't be surprised...Brett knows music.
2. Walk Away: Vocals by Sylvia The use of drums and a back and forth dialog with Brett, this is a fun, loud, moment stripped from the best of the Power punk era. I liked it live but it was more easily translated in the digital form. But live music is live due to that possibility.
3. Let It Kill You: Vocals by Sylvia, this was a fast, hard ass kicking of glorious loud guitars and bashing drums... the song actually had me smirking for how pure this was. Anyone liking punk could only love this, it bangs on level red.
4. Mystery: This was a song both clever and deep, with a sound that evoked a variety of best punk over the last 20 years and managed with echoing vocals and powerful guitars to be new. New? New.
5. B-Jam: Honestly, a much more powerful, greater voice, stronger presence of the lyrics, but the power was there, too. It was sincere.
6. Meadowlark: My favorite of the play list. This work is effective on all levels. Driving, it goes one step over the line, with abandon. It shows deft use of the 3 instruments and strong vocals.
https://music.apple.com/us/artist/the-side-effects/1589159789
https://thesideeffectsmpls.bandcamp.com/album/the-side-effects-ep
THANKS to the VENUE Barely Brothers!
https://www.barelybrothersrecords.com/
https://www.facebook.com/BarelyBrothersRecords
