Some songs go in one ear and out the other, while some burrow down into your heart and set up a quiet, tiny home there. Michael Paul Brennan's latest release, "What Could've Been," places itself firmly in the second, and it doesn't even just reside there, it reverberates throughout.
This track was recorded at Underground Recording Co. and produced by the talented Mike Machaby, bearing shining witness to Brennan's continuously improving artistry. "What Could've Been" is an emotional journey through warm, soulful vocals that make your heart feel at home, accompanied by richly sculpted instrumentation that manages to feel both intimate and massive. From the very first note, Brennan's voice is pure velvet, equal parts ache and innocence. His vocal performance is infused with openness and feels refreshingly honest, adding a credible measure of truth to the deceptively simple lyrics. The lyrical themes of intimacy and loss noticeably balance love and question, drawing their emphasis from the layers and layers of additional instrumentation and conscious inclusions of subtle elements. Helping to hold the song together is Machaby's strong but understated production. The recording of the guitar parts is particularly thrilling, with simple flourishes spreading over like a bassist's filling. The exciting, haunting textures that underlie Brennan's voice convey a similarly delightful sense of being in place by design. Every possible fraction of the arrangement feels molded to an actual position, where the romance can take its turn, leaving no room for over-the-top production or theatricality.
What makes "What Could've Been" so truly remarkable is its timelessness. Brennan is singing a song of chance that hasn't been vented yet, and he's so skilled that he makes it sound like they're narrating your story as well. And maybe that's the miracle of artifice coming into reality. The chance to put music to the mostly unvoiced comprehensions and griefs everybody holds privately.
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