By Matt Stock, Editor
“To the fallen behind and broken down, come out from the Underground…”
So goes the call to action from Pretty Darn’s Kyle Wareham and Nick Poulin on “Underground”, the lead track off their highly anticipated second album “Brothers”. If they’re speaking to their sizable and wildly dedicated fanbase, they have very little to worry about. We never went away, and we’ve been waiting. The two years that have passed between their self-titled debut and “Brothers” have only strengthened the bond between the band and their followers, and the wait has paid off in a sublimely entrancing work that smartly plays to Pretty Darn’s strengths while showing astonishing new depth creatively, sonically, and emotionally.
In a recent discussion with “The Southender Magazine”, band co-founder, singer, guitarist, and producer Wareham told us that “Brothers” was an ambitious project for the band in that “the (track) sequence tells a story in a way. It’s not a concept album by any means but the sequence is intentional”. Giving no further detail, we were left to listen to the record track by mesmerizing track, and we came away exhilarated by a story about family, conflict, love, loss, art, redemption, and triumph.
The tone is set early in the aforementioned lead track, “Underground”, which finds harmonic narrators Poulin and Wareham in a state of ennui, standing at a crossroads looking forward but lacking strong footing. “Sometimes I’m hurling at the wall, sometimes I glide above the breeze, sometimes I need a miracle, sometimes it all makes sense to me.” Over a hypnotic circular djembe beat from percussionist Nate Douglas, the duo realize that they’ve got “a heart worth lending out”. And thus, Pretty Darn is born.
Of course, no success story goes without bumps in the road, and to that end the album segues into its rollicking title track. Penned by frequent Pretty Darn collaborator and co-producer Jared Templeton, “Brothers” tells the story of two men at odds after initial success, turning a blind eye towards simmering discord until it grows into a rift that can no longer be ignored, all over a back-and-forth lead vocal and an impossibly catchy chorus that has already been embraced as a favorite by fans at live performances. Poulin’s lines project an air of hopeful resignation. “Isn’t this getting tired?” he pleads, “are we done yet?” Wareham counters with the stern tone of an older brother, “dagger glares from swollen eyes and busted lips they just won’t let it die, having fun yet?” The exchange continues over an increased tempo with additional percussion and hand clapping, with the boys eventually agreeing to “shake on it”, just like their mothers would want them to.
The next two tracks present a vibe of introspection, understanding, and moving forward with resolve, while also serving as a showcase for Pretty Darn’s growth as a studio band. Poulin steps to the forefront on the smooth midtempo rocker “January Type”, delivering a meditation on moving forward over some sweetly layered Laurel Canyon vibes from Wareham. “I Belong” marks the albums midpoint and is a stunning showcase for new band members Douglas and bassist Alex Gonzalez. A motivational march out of complacency with Wareham and Poulin showcasing the vocal harmonies that put Pretty Darn on the map, and coming to the realization that “In the end, we will stop pretending, this isn’t all that we need”.
What they need is love, as we all do, and so “Brothers” moves into that territory with some tracks that pack a blistering emotional punch. The Templeton-penned “Wolves” is a melancholy and vaguely ominous rumination on the despair and doubt that can unfortunately plague one when in love, the fears and insecurities that go hand in hand with the desire to lay ourselves bare to the one person that is more capable of hurting us than anyone else in the universe. What follows is the album’s emotional centerpiece, the devastating, beautiful “If I Asked You”. The soulful, R&B influenced track is a showcase for Poulin’s growth as a songwriter and vocalist, as he laments a lost love with a haunting, yearning falsetto that finally breaks at the crescendo of the song’s final chorus, with Poulin promising it all for another chance, assuring his beloved that “we won’t remember if you don’t want to”. Say hello to your new favorite breakup song, kids.
“Brothers” enters the home stretch with two final tracks carrying a strong message of hope and triumph over adversity. Pretty Darn reached back into the vault and unearthed “Hold on to Hopefully”, a Poulin track from his days as a solo artist that is retooled here to fit the narrative, as our narrators come to terms with the uncertainty of their futures and turn themselves over to faith in fate regarding affairs of the heart and mind. The Wareham-penned “I Am That I Am” brings the album to an exhilarating conclusion, a six-and-a-half minute long reflection on spiritual duality that pulls out all the stops, as a final track should. Featuring lyrics of tranquility and understanding, along with a beautiful guest vocal from Wareham’s wife Dominique, the track is punctuated by an extended instrumental outro featuring an absolute marvel of a didjeridoo and sitar piece performed by legendary local artist Jos Vicars that leaves the listener in a place of satisfied, peaceful solitude.
The first time I listened to “Brothers”, I called it “an album that you listen to with your girlfriend while swinging in a hammock”. That’s cute, and I still think that’s a hell of a good idea, but to oversimplify it in such a fashion does a disservice to Wareham, Poulin, and their bandmates, and the emotional effort that is on display here. It IS a record about brothers, but it’s also about sisters and lovers, mothers and fathers, enemies and friends, and how we all wear these masks as we hurtle uncertainly through the Grand Design of the Universe. Together.
