APPAREL REVIEW:
Brandon Markell Holmes
Fuller
[toucan sounds]
The ‘AM’ reviews are back, to our great pleasure, notably as the album we will talk about today is a little gem, which deserves a religious listening and a couple of carefully chosen words. Now, without further ado, let's get things rolling with the one and only protagonist of this digital release -a prelude to his second LP which will drop in the Spring of 2024- who goes by the name of Brandon Markell Holmes.
The Chicago born and bred artist, eminence of the Brooklyn underground House scene (where he moved from the city of Lake Michigan) is foremost an extremely eclectic vocalist. The warmth of his voice, the way he’s able to modulate its tones, combined with the versatility of his talent, made him one of the skilled musicians who collaborated on 'Humanz' (2017), the highly appreciated Gorillaz maxi album where, in the last song of the LP called ‘Circle Of Friendz’, he brightly displays the charisma and personality that his art can bring. Brandon has decided, for this new sonic adventure, to entrust his project to the expert hands of Toucan Sounds (as he’s been doing previously, in the recent past), a record label unmistakably based in Brooklyn, where else!? The ‘repercussions’ of this fruitful partnership is called 'Fuller' and is a terrifically chic and groovy record, good for any occasion, which contains the title-track ‘Fuller', then a great edit of the very same song by Robert PM, the Head Honcho of Toucan Sounds and finally a b-side entitled 'I Bet’, where Brandon tries his hand at an instrumental beat masterly crafted by the producer Liam Berkeley. ‘Fuller’ helps us understand, as only the simplicity and power of music can do, the sonic roots of its author, who gives a masterclass of how an artist should interpret -from a vocal POV- an arrangement that features some of the founding characteristics of Chicago and NY House. In this legit track, everything a House music lover could ask for is present: a pulsating rhythm section, in which each instrument is mixed in the cleanest way possible so that the every ear can clearly perceive -purely and subtly at the same time- every beat of the kick drum, every snare stroke and each hi-hat hit (sorry too many H’s); a brilliantly written harmonic structure but, what is most striking, is Brandon’s raw energy, his effortless intonation and the way he articulate every words making his voice a proper leading instrument, without sounding too pervasive. A perfectly balanced instrument, functional to the benefit of ’Fuller’. This is indeed the perfect pre-album single. The cleanliness and warmth of Brandon's voice, which scratches the beat with his Soul/R&B touch giving real substance to the whole composition, is remarkable. On the other hand Robert PM's edit is, matter-of-fact, simply an extended version and surely a faultless adaptation for club purposes, while ‘I Bet’ represents the other side of the sonic coin. ‘I Bet’ is the plastic representation of the multifaceted talent of its author and his ability to make the most of every type of production. The track, produced by Liam Berkeley who cooked the beat with a hint of distortion on the rhythm-section, makes it neat and and the union of the two artists gives life to a sumptuous song which, as well as the previous ones, contains numerous different influences. Starting from Soul music to the '90s R&B and Jazz, however, everything is expertly composed in a contemporary key. In a nutshell: if a good beginning bodes well, Brandon Markell Holmes' second LP will be an absolute banger and we can't wait to listen to it. ‘Fuller’, for its part, is the engine of a train that is traveling at high speed and you will soon be on it. Just have a little more patience! An obligatory mention goes to the label behind this recording project, the aforementioned Toucan Sounds which, since its launch, has had as its primary objective that of launching young talents from the House, Disco and Techno scene. The imprint, which is established off the independent production company ‘YouTooCanWoo’, located in Williamsburg (BKN), have again had a pretty intuitive call focusing on Brandon, a skilled artist with a magnetic, seductive voice and gifted by a many-sided talent. A final word about ‘Fuller’: if it’ll have at least half the success it had with us with the public, will be a ‘hole in one’ record.
APPAREL REVIEW:
Brandon Markell Holmes
Fuller
[toucan sounds]