A Wisconsin writer knows better than to make a negative critique of good cheese. And the audio varieties of cheese benefit from age just as much as the edible varieties do: long-standing, respect-earning artistes Kylie Minogue and Pet Shop Boys proved that in 2020 with, respectively, Disco and Hotspot.
Brijean Murphy doesn’t have as much experience, but, as a percussionist touring with bands like Toro Y Moi, she knows her rhythms, and Doug Stuart, the multi-instrumentalist and producer half of the duo named after her, fills in much of the rest of their first proper full-length. One key fromage flavor of Feelings is Brazilian, as in bossa nova, samba and tropicalia, forms that have often paired a pastel musical vibe with a darker sense of life and especially of love. On “Day Dreaming,” the opening track, Murphy is caressing thoughts of a paramour, but she’s also wondering if that paramour is thinking about her with the same intensity.
Because her tenaciously tantalizing voice could be favorably compared to Astrud Gilberto’s or Bebel Gilberto’s, Murphy blends romance and melancholy as if they’re fated to dance gracefully to the many beats she, Stuart and other musicians assemble.
Incorporating Giorgio Moroder’s electronic pop and disco (which influenced the aforementioned Minogue and Pet Shop Boys) alongside South American slinks and struts, Feelings takes a lot of hipster-revivified styles—plus some hipster quirks, like the sonic simulation of a warped vinyl record—and lets them melt with emotion. At times, the melting is so effective that a listener dreams between the grooves rather than distinguishing them: “Ocean” and “Paradise” are both lovely but might as well be a single song with the two titles combined, and two short interludes, “Pepe” and “Chester,” are unnecessary palate cleansers. Brijean’s cheese stands alone just fine.
