Out today, Daydreaming Music Fiend is a compelling new album from Brendan Forrest, a musician originally from Chicago and now based in Colorado. His melding of Americana and folk stirs, and this release shows a particular inspiration from traditional bluegrass. Opening track “Rice’s Rag” presents a vibrant showcase of precisely that, weaving plucky guitars and strings for a stirring sound that fully embraces the embrace of acoustic string band music.
The ensuing “Lowdown Stray Dog Blues” injects a soaring vocal presence, emitting “got nothing to lose,” within a down-on-my-luck thematic embrace as frolicking guitars and strings intertwine with melodic cohesion; the track was written during a period of ongoing depression, and the emotions show in consuming form.
Highlights show consistently throughout the album, maintaining a consistent bluegrass and folk aesthetical approach, though varying enjoyably in tone. “Olee Dae” struts a more somber, understated enjoyment, relative to the exuberant brightness of the album’s opening one-two punch.
Elsewhere, “Song for John Prine” plays as a tribute to the Chicago folk community; Forrest wrote the impactful track the night of Prine’s passing, and the playing “those songs tonight,” sequence conveys a celebratory quality that conveys the power of moving folk songwriting. Daydreaming Music Fiend is an engaging success from Forrest, who drew inspiration from various life events alongside an evident fondness for bluegrass and folk.
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We discovered this release via MusoSoup, as part of the artist’s promotional campaign.
