Ian Brennan has had a long career defined by struggle. A difficult childhood may seem light years away from a career as a Grammy-award winning producer who’s worked with artists ranging from Merle Haggard to Green Day, but the 13 solo albums he’s recorded over the last 28 years have remained firmly beneath the radar of the music world.
‘Sometimes it Just Takes That Long’ is ostensibly a career retrospective, and is largely built around a collection of understated, reflective, acoustic-led songs. But it also features some previously unreleased tracks, and doubles as a soundtrack to Brennan’s first novella, ‘Sister Maple Syrup Eyes’, which, by all accounts, is pretty dark.
The artist’s own liner notes are informative, and also extremely telling, his self-effacing style threatening to undermine his already modest achievements as a recording artist and with no mention of the other aspects of his career.
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Indie crosses with Americana to inform the majority of the material here and Brennan delivers it with a sensitivity that has a certain charm and appeal. ‘Keeping Up with the Joneses’ has the country stylings of Neil Young (and some very NY style chord changes) and also the pining twang in the vocal delivery.
Bonus track ‘Yeah, Yeah, Yeah’ is a lo-fi grunger that’s far from throwaway, and calls to mind ‘Green Mind’ era Dinosaur Jr.
On the whole, it’s a fine collection that suggests Brennan’s obscurity is more the result of misfortune than anything. I have a hunch his book might be worth checking out, too…
Ian Brennan Online
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