no. 7 — Midnight Matinee by Brass Bed
If you read the earlier posts (no worries if you didn’t), you’d know that my mom used to run an online music magazine and get hundreds of unsolicited CD submissions mailed to our house every month. Once the shelves in her office were full, the CDs piled into the living room shelves. Then, they’d be stacks on the office floor. Finally, they filled huge plastic bins that we kept in the basement. Even after my mom no longer ran the magazine, bands would send CDs and EPs and singles, hoping to be reviewed by my mom and her team of writers.
When my friends and I were really bored, or when I was tired of listening to the same three albums over and over, we’d go down into the office or the basement and rummage through the CDs, hoping to find something good. A lot of the time, whenever we slid the CD into the DVD player and blasted it over the TV speakers, the music was not great. But every now and then, we’d find gems.
Brass Bed was the first band I found out of those piles that I loved. It really felt like I picked them like a needle from a haystack. I loved them a little extra because they were a band my mom didn’t know; I found them before she did, which made them more special. When your mom is a music expert, you gotta find your niche somewhere. I found that niche in the pop guitar, horns, and unexpected do-op, almost country-like harmonies that back what is ultimately an indie-rock band. At the time, this album was only a few years old, and searching their band name on google yielded almost no results. Now, though, they have multiple albums out, a tiny desk, and enough fame to be found on all major streaming platforms. However, they still feel like my little secret.
I’m not sure what it is that makes Brass Bed feel different from other bands. Maybe someone who understands music theory can tell me, but when their song Olivia comes on shuffle while I’m driving around, I still lose my damn mind. If you listen to any song on this album, listen to Olivia. Some songs are for rainy days, some for sunny days, some for winter and some for summer. This song is for anything and everything. It is perfect for all weather. Any time I’m in an ok mood, this song cheers me up. Any time I’m in a good mood, this song matches it. Maybe it’s the horns, or the way the song stops right when it reaches its groove and grows in a new crescendo. Or maybe it’s just rad. If you listen, let me know what you think.
You can listen here
