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Grey Expectations

by Bryant Eugene Vazquez

/
1.
Freezerburn 04:00
Apologies galore My frozen tongue is bitten I could still kiss you With my blood Your brittle heart is mine You say it all the time I could not thrill you You’re divine All my words like freezerburn Cast aside Cause you deserved Something more Oh, my love will freeze alone Cast aside Cause you deserve Someone warm Your breath is all but safe And your permanence has drifted I’m gonna miss you When you go The ice has formed a bridge We know the way back home I wouldn’t chase anymore
2.
Maybe the winter will go away Maybe in autumn you’ll want to stay Ah, do what you want to You’re no one’s slave Given the options--it’s best this way It’s all over-rated & overplayed Walk in a straight line Without a weight Ah, do what you’re gonna All by yourself Leave without warning To some place else Everything perfect—it could be great Everything’s worthless— Somebody says Ah, sober and worthless Repeating phase Smile with hurt, Here comes a new day
3.
Maybe she’s slipping away Should I have to pretend? Constantly shivering You wear that dress With some kind of intent Summer indifference When it’s cold in the dead of the July Shiver—she’s slipping away Could I try to pretend? Tired of listening Your coat of fear Keeps you far though you’re near Autumn indifference While you sweat, and the snow disappears
4.
S.A.D. 02:12
I'm gonna waste my time I'm gonna waste my life
5.
I would’ve wanted you I would’ve wanted to I really did love you then But, summer just came and went Honestly, you’re just not a feeling anymore. You were my summer, til you went away. You were my sunshine, I wanted to say. Here comes the winter It shows in the lake Water is frozen I wanted to lie
6.
Still Cold 03:41
It’s still cold outside There’s nowhere to hide It’s still cold out… We’re barely a sigh Don’t tell me you’re scared The blizzard won’t last But we’re both unprepared The negative air… It’s still cold outside There’s nowhere to hide It’s still could out… We’re frozen with doubt It’s just suicidal The blizzard will come It’ll be both our final
7.
Thawing 03:38
“We’re not immune to the winter, Emily, my dear.”
 “Fog in the night is a blanket as we kiss—cruel. So, cruelly…” And you save your deeps breaths. Thawing, we pressed through Silver skies and gloom. “We were alive with the first snow—glistening new.”
 “We were a sigh and a weakness shivering, too.”

 “We’re not immune to the winter, Emily, my dear.”
 “Fog in the night is a blanket as we kiss—cruel. So, cruelly…”
8.
He’s seen everything this Cruel world has to offer That’s besides the point You’re his only lover now She knows everything this Cold world has to offer She doesn’t have to search far There’s not any other for her “I know everything this cruel world has to offer me, but that’s besides the want... you’re my one and only girl.” “I’ve seen everything this cold world has to offer me, from what I’ve discovered... you’re my only one.” “I’m the one you want....” “I don’t want another...” “I don’t want no other girl.” “Yeah, I don’t want no other to stand beside me now. I don’t want another... let me know your feelings.....”

about

Album number two in a trilogy of studies exploring specific eras/movements in popular music.

All pop/rock songs, disguised to replicate the sounds of the mid-80s/early-90s noise/pop/rock/ shoegaze; all themed around the bitterness of winter.

Recorded using two dynamic microphones.


***

Bryant Eugene Vazquez has been called a prolific artist, a musical chameleon, braggadocious, a jack of all trades, a musical genius, manic and moody. He’s been compared to the likes of masters: Bob Dylan, Lou Reed, Tom Waits, Nick Cave, Elliott Smith, Randy Newman, and David Bowie. All hyperbole and biases aside, Bryant Eugene Vazquez is an artist who holds the craft of songwriting to its highest esteem. There’s a reason for all the comparisons, and that evidence can only be found in the work he continues to produce at an inexhaustible rate. Since moving to Philadelphia in October 2013, Vazquez has released a total of ten albums; of these ten separate bodies of work, four of them have been written and recorded in Philadelphia, including 2015’s All Damn Day/The Greatest Hits, which premiered on WXPN The Key and enjoyed much critical acclaim.



Enter 2016, Vazquez makes good on his promise to deliver the second album in a trilogy of “album studies” which focus on specific genres from different decades of popular music. On September 30th,The Key once again graciously provided the platform for premiere, this time: Grey Expectations, an album which sets its sights on the genre-pioneering sounds of bands like The Jesus and Mary Chain. As Vazquez himself states the album consists of, “pop/rock songs, disguised to replicate the sounds of the mid 80s/early 90s noise/pop/rock/ shoegaze; all themed around the bitterness of winter,” providing a collection of work where the “production is crowded and fuzzy, the guitars are tinny and abrasive, and Vazquez’s vocals are more breathy and buried than ever before,” as described by WXPN The Key’s Chad Snyder. Mitchell Hillman of The Phoenix New Times further drives the point of the album stating, “the entire album is an homage to the noise pop, post punk and shoegaze sound found in abundance from the mid-'80s to the mid-'90s...it completely captures the essence of early Jesus & Mary Chain or the pre-Creation Records pop of My Bloody Valentine.”



Recorded using only two microphones, Vazquez continues his tradition of the lo-fi/DIY/home-recording process. As done on his previous effort, Grey Expectations is entirely written, performed, and recorded by Vazquez-- a feat which continually grows impressive and awe-inspiring with every self-released album. From start to finish, Grey Expectations assaults the ears of its listener by constructing a dense wall of noise, fuzz, and reverb--bulldozing through eight songs in just under half an hour, all the while maintaining a structure of simple chord progressions and memorable hooks.

In summation, perhaps Mitchell Hillman best encapsulates Bryant Eugene Vazquez in his endeavors, “It appears at this point in time that Vazquez can simply apply himself to any genre, any music construction, and master it by making it his own. It also seems he likes to play a game of "Anything you can do, I can do better," because he actually can and it doesn't matter if it's grunge, folk, Americana, hard rock, or in this case alternative noise pop. The man is something of a master painter in which each brushstroke is attached to a sound or a concept or an era, and he takes those strokes to create an entire painting that becomes his newest, best album to date. I cannot admire his attitude, aptitude and altitude vigorously enough, much less his chameleon-like career and an ear for essential audio ephemera most would never notice to include.” As 2016 nears its end, only one thing is certain for Bryant Eugene Vazquez: the nature of his prolific onslaught doesn’t appear to be in danger of losing steam anytime in the foreseeable future.

credits

released September 30, 2016

All songs written, performed, and recorded by Bryant Eugene Vazquez

Mixing by Bryant Eugene Vazquez

Mastering by Andy Clarke

Album photography by Mackenzie Canavarro

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