Colin Bracewell - VAlley

Colin Bracewell

Valley
self-released; 2021

3.8 out of 5

By Matt Jensen

Colin Bracewell is a twenty-year-old musician from Minneapolis who recently released Valley. Bracewell mentions: “About my experiences of living in Fresno, California (San Joaquin Valley) and Minneapolis, Minnesota. Eventually coming back in contact with individuals from both places and seeing what has changed, who has stayed, what is lost and what was discovered from the last five years.” Fair enough.

The EP starts with “The Cage” and the song contains a heavy beat, guitars, synths and basically a lot of instrumentation. It’s a dynamic song with intimate moments and very grand and epic crescendos. Good start.

“Not Today” is much more lush and reminiscent of Bon Iver. I say this in terms of the production and approach to the space between the notes. It felt like a highlight to me. The vocals are on point and the guitar work was smooth. Some of the lyrics felt saccharine but nonetheless very good delivery.

“Let Me In” is another good song where the dynamics play an important role. I again thought of Bon Iver in how the production was approached. “Page” is more or slow burn and excels because of the subtlety. I loved the guitar work and in general just how the song unfolds.

“In The Valley” is perhaps the most experimental and yes the dynamics are central here. There are moments of lone vocals which sometimes get thrown into a fire with heavy instrumentation and sometimes not. It’s a very cool approach.

The young artist is off to a good start. His music sounds fresh and modern while still containing sincere emotion. He successfully avoids cliches most of the time and establishes a pretty solid signature sound. I hope to hear more soon.

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