Third (Cait Brennan album)

Last updated
Third
Caitbrennan-third- acover.jpg
Studio album by
Cait Brennan
ReleasedApril 21, 2017
RecordedDecember 2–4, 2016
Genre Indie rock, glam rock, soul
Length44:45
Label Omnivore/Alternative Distribution Alliance
Producer Cait Brennan and Fernando Perdomo
Cait Brennan chronology
Debutante
(2016)		Third
(2017)		Introducing The Breakdown According To Cait Brennan
(2018)

Third is the second studio album by Cait Brennan, released by Omnivore on April 21, 2017. [1] The follow-up to 2016's critically lauded Debutante , [2] Third was recorded at Ardent Studios in Memphis, in the same studio and using many of the same instruments Big Star used during its Ardent heyday in the early 1970s. [3] [4]

Contents

The album was co-produced and performed entirely by Brennan and Fernando Perdomo. [4] The duo produced Brennan's 2016 debut 'Debutante', as well as an unreleased second album and a set of demos for Sire Records founder Seymour Stein before ultimately signing with Omnivore Recordings in January 2017. [5] [6]

Background and recording

During the recording of Brennan's Sire Records demo sessions, Brennan and Perdomo attended a presentation at the Grammy Museum at L.A. Live, celebrating the 50th Anniversary of Ardent Studios. At the event, Brennan and Perdomo encountered Big Star drummer and Ardent president Jody Stephens, who invited the pair to record their next album at Ardent. When the Sire deal did not materialize, [6] the duo traveled to Memphis and recorded 13 songs in three days. During the sessions, the pair used many of the same instruments and amplifiers used by Big Star during their heyday, including Alex Chilton's Hiwatt amps, Mellotron and Chris Bell's cherry red Gibson guitar. As with Brennan's debut album Debutante, Brennan and Perdomo played all of the instruments, with the exception of two guest appearances by longtime Memphis power pop musician Van Duren and former Continental Drifters guitarist Robert Mache. [7] [8] The album was engineered by Ardent staff producer/engineer Adam Hill, and mastered by Grammy-winning audio engineer Michael Graves. [9] Omnivore's Cheryl Pawelski had been a longtime fan of Brennan's work, as well as having an extensive history with Ardent and Big Star; Pawelski signed Brennan to Omnivore in January 2017, slating Brennan's Third for a late April 2017 release to coincide with Record Store Day. [10] [3] [4] [7]

Composition

"When someone has suffered violence simply for being who they are, there's an urgency to the lyrics “Kinda tried to hide it, but I never denied it.” Cait Brennan sings these words, and everything else on her new album, Third, as if her life depended on it. Not that she can't reveal a light touch, as when she sings, “he knows too much, I think we'll have to kill him.” If the latter is built on a bedrock of T. Rex hand claps and chugging electric guitars, mixing the lighthearted with the murderous, that just comes with the territory."

—Alex Greene, Memphis Flyer [11]

Brennan composed the majority of the songs on Third in November and December 2016, during the final days of a particularly painful romantic breakup. "There was a pretty intense romantic relationship involved," Brennan told Popdose writer Keith Creighton. "Maybe romantic isn’t the right word, but I fell head over heels in love with the boy in question. I wish I could tell you that was mutual, but the songs would rat me out...I think above all else, that’s what changed me the most, and what drove the creation of Third." [10] Many of the songs were in unfinished or fragmented form when Brennan and Perdomo arrived at Ardent, and sections were hastily written in the studio during the sessions, often just moments before Brennan sang them. [10] Memphis singer-songwriter Van Duren, whose long association with Ardent dates back to auditioning for Big Star in the 1970s, and had played extensively with Jody Stephens and Chris Bell, provided a key chord change on "Shake Away", and plays guitar on the track. [11] Two songs from the album were partly or wholly recorded prior to the Ardent sessions; "Goodbye Missamerica" was a spontaneously improvised home demo recording dating from 2011, enhanced with drums and Mellotron at Ardent, while "LA/Amsterdam" was taken from the completed sessions for Brennan's unreleased second album. [10]

Promotion and tour

Brennan and Perdomo embarked on a series of full-band release shows and promotional appearances, beginning with a sold-out show at Molly Malone's in Los Angeles. [12] The pair returned to Memphis in early May 2017 for televised performances on WREG-TV, radio interviews, and a release show at Bar DKDC in the Cooper-Young, which included a surprise performance of Chris Bell's "I Am The Cosmos" with Jody Stephens on drums, Van Duren on guitar, and Brennan singing Bell's vocal. [11] While in Memphis, Brennan and Perdomo returned to Ardent for three days of additional recording for Introducing The Breakdown According To Cait Brennan as well as tracking for Perdomo's 2017 album The Golden Hour. [13] Additional tour dates continued throughout 2017.

Title

Although Third was Brennan's second official release, it was the third album she recorded, after temporarily shelving the unreleased Introducing The Breakdown According To Cait Brennan, which is due in 2018. [14] The title "Third" refers in part to the swapped release order, as well as being a nod to Big Star's Third, which was recorded in the same studio on much of the same gear. [15] However, Brennan has suggested that the title refers to neither of those things, but instead refers to the ill-fated polyamorous relationship she was in at the time, which inspired many of the songs. [10] [13]

Critical reception

Third received generally positive reviews from critics. AllMusic senior editor Stephen Thomas Erlewine ranked Third 42nd on his list of the 100 best albums of 2017. [16] LA Weekly's Jackson Truax described her as a "Renaissance woman of indie rock" and said "Third is a subversive glam-rock masterpiece...It’s a pleasure to hear a new album that wears its David Bowie, Velvet Underground, Big Star and Queen influences so boldly on its sleeve while still serving as its own original, satisfying statement." [12] No Depression addressed the high expectations Brennan faced after the critical acclaim she received from her debut album Debutante, saying "Since this is technically her third album, it’s ineligible for a sophomore slump. And slump this is not. ‘Ascent’ is more apt. Together with creative partner Fernando Perdomo, Brennan combines the best of ‘70s pop - Nilsson, Bowie, Todd Rundgren, Emitt Rhodes, Sparks, Raspberries, ELO - with the snap of Prince’s ‘80s funk. Perdomo plays most of the instruments and Brennan provides all of the vocals, but it sounds like an ensemble rather than a construct. With tracking laid down in only three days, the productions are full of early-take life that’s magnified by canny overdubs of guitar, mellotron and other atmospheric touches. This has the energy of a live set and the finesse of a crafted studio product...Those new to Brennan should prepare to be dazzled; fans should prepare to be dazzled anew." Writing in The Advocate , Jacob Anderson-Minshall described Brennan as "rock's next big thing" and praised the album and her journey "from actress to filmmaker to critically acclaimed rock goddess." [14]

Spectrum Culture's Grant Lindner offered a somewhat contrasting view, praising Brennan as "a fascinating vocalist who is seemingly at war with trite lyrics and musical tropes. Her voice is rich and captivating, a throwback to the days of glam rock with an unmistakable David Bowie influence. She could easily carve out an evergreen niche churning out droll power pop, but on her second album Third, she expands into other genre influences and challenges herself as a lyricist to bring a sense of specificity to every bar. She doesn’t always succeed, but the joy of the album is hearing her try and feeling the record’s growing pains." Lindner praised the album's immediacy and melodic hooks, but panned the album's length, saying "Those who prize character above all else in their music will likely find Brennan compelling enough for 13 tracks, but the rest of us should hope that her relentless experimentation on Third helps her find a genre comfort zone that can work for her to create the truly great record she seems capable of producing." [17]

Year-end lists

PublicationListYearRankRef.
Medium Stephen Thomas Erlewine's 100 Best Albums of 2017
2017
42
Goldmine 25 Best Albums of 2017
2017
6
WFMU Evan "Funk" Davies' Best Albums of 2017
2017
5
Phoenix New Times Best Things We Heard In 2017
2017
6
Pause And Play10 Best Albums of 2017
2017
6
PopdoseBest of 2017
2017
5
Pure PopStars of 2017
2017
9
WPKN WPKN's Favourite Songs of 2017
2017
3
I Don't Hear A SingleAlbums of the Year 2017
2017
11

Track listing

Third – Standard edition [26]
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Bad At Apologies" Cait Brennan Cait Brennan, Fernando Perdomo 3:45
2."Stack Overflow"BrennanBrennan, Perdomo3:03
3."He Knows Too Much"BrennanBrennan, Perdomo3:48
4."At The End Of The World"BrennanBrennan, Perdomo4:26
5."A Hard Man To Love"Brennan, PerdomoBrennan, Perdomo4:21
6."Caitiebots Don't Cry"BrennanBrennan, Perdomo5:40
7."Benedict Cumberbatch"BrennanBrennan, Perdomo3:17
8."Shake Away"
  • Cait Brennan
  • Fernando Perdomo
  • Van Duren
Brennan, Perdomo3:55
9."The Angels Lie"BrennanBrennan, Perdomo3:35
10."Collapse"BrennanBrennan, Perdomo3:34
11."LA/Amsterdam"BrennanBrennan, Perdomo5:05
12."Perish The Thought"BrennanBrennan, Perdomo4:04
13."Goodbye Missamerica"BrennanBrennan, Perdomo4:21
Total length:52:45

Personnel

Adapted from the album liner notes. [27]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Big Star</span> American rock band

Big Star was an American rock band formed in Memphis, Tennessee, in 1971 by Alex Chilton, Chris Bell, Jody Stephens (drums), and Andy Hummel (bass). The group broke up in late 1974, and reorganized with a new lineup 18 years later following a reunion concert at the University of Missouri. In its first era, the band's musical style drew on the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, and the Byrds. Big Star produced a style that foreshadowed the alternative rock of the 1980s and 1990s. Before they broke up, Big Star created a "seminal body of work that never stopped inspiring succeeding generations", in the words of Rolling Stone, as the "quintessential American power pop band", and "one of the most mythic and influential cult acts in all of rock & roll". Three of Big Star's studio albums are included in the Rolling Stone's list of the Top 500 Albums of All-Time.

<i>Third/Sister Lovers</i> 1978 studio album by Big Star

Third is the third album by American rock band Big Star. Sessions started at Ardent Studios in September 1974. Though Ardent created promotional, white-label test pressings for the record in 1975, a combination of financial issues, the uncommercial sound of the record, and lack of interest from singer Alex Chilton and drummer Jody Stephens in continuing the project prevented the album from ever being properly finished or released at the time of its recording. It was eventually released in 1978 by PVC Records.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chris Bell (American musician)</span> American singer

Christopher Branford Bell was an American musician, guitarist, singer, and songwriter. Along with Alex Chilton, he led the power pop band Big Star through its first album #1 Record (1972). He also pursued a solo career throughout the mid-1970s, resulting in the posthumous I Am the Cosmos LP.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peter Holsapple</span> American musician

Peter Livingston Holsapple is an American musician who formed, along with Chris Stamey, the dB's, a jangle-pop band from Winston-Salem, North Carolina. He became the band's principal songwriter and singer after Stamey's departure. The band, with Stamey back in the fold, reformed with new material in 2005–2006.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pat Sansone</span> American musician

Patrick (Pat) Sansone is a Grammy-nominated singer, songwriter, musician, and music producer. He is a member of Wilco, The Autumn Defense, and Mellotron Variations and has worked with Jonathan Wilson, Andrew Bird, Jamie Lidell, and others.

Wendilyn Marielle Caitlin Brennan, better known by her stage name Cait Brennan, is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and screenwriter. Brennan's musical style contains elements of glam rock, psychedelic soul, R&B, Indie pop, and power pop. combined with dense vocal harmonies and revealing literate lyrics that occasionally draw on vaudeville, music hall, mythical, and biblical themes. In 2016, Brennan released her first full-length studio album (Debutante) to significant acclaim, landing on numerous best-of-2016 lists including the Village Voice Pazz & Jop list. Her second studio album (Third) was recorded at Ardent Studios in Memphis and was released via Omnivore Recordings on April 21, 2017.

<i>Strangers on a Train</i> (album) 1986 album by The Left Banke

Strangers on a Train is the third and final studio album by American baroque pop band the Left Banke and was released in March 1986.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Scruffs</span> American band

The Scruffs are an American power pop group formed in Memphis, Tennessee in 1974 by writer/guitarist/vocalist Stephen Burns along with guitarist David Branyan, bassist Rick Branyan, and drummer Zeph Paulson. Although their line up has changed many times over the years, The Scruffs, centered around Burns, have continued to release records up through the 2010s.

<i>God</i> (Rebecca St. James album) 1996 studio album by Rebecca St. James

God is the third studio album by then 18-year-old Christian pop and rock artist Rebecca St. James. It was released on 25 June 1996 by ForeFront Records, and peaked at No. 200 on the Billboard 200. The title song was featured on WOW #1s: 31 of the Greatest Christian Music Hits Ever. It was RIAA Certified Gold in 2005. This was the first of many Rebecca St. James albums produced by Tedd Tjornhom.

<i>Out of Body</i> (album) 1993 studio album by the Hooters

Out of Body is the fifth studio album by American rock band the Hooters, released in May 1993 by MCA Records.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fernando Perdomo</span> Guitarist and singer

Fernando Jose Perdomo is an American musician best known for his work as a producer and session bassist and guitarist. He is best known as one of the guitarists in the movie Echo in the Canyon, where he backed up Jakob Dylan, Fiona Apple, Beck, Norah Jones, Regina Spektor, Brian Wilson, and Cat Power.

<i>I Am the Cosmos</i> 1992 studio album by Chris Bell

I Am the Cosmos is the only solo album by the American pop-rock musician Chris Bell, posthumously released in 1992 by Rykodisc, having been recorded over a period of two to three years during the mid-1970s. Bell had previously been a member of Big Star.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alex Chilton</span> American songwriter, guitarist, singer & producer

William Alexander Chilton was an American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and record producer best known as the lead singer of the Box Tops and Big Star. Chilton's early commercial success in the 1960s as a teen vocalist for the Box Tops was never repeated in later years with Big Star and in his subsequent indie music solo career on small labels, but he drew an intense following among indie and alternative rock musicians. He is frequently cited as a seminal influence by influential rock artists and bands, some of whose testimonials appeared in the 2012 documentary Big Star: Nothing Can Hurt Me.

<i>Apocalypso</i> (The Motels album) 2011 studio album by The Motels

Apocalypso was released in 2011, although it was recorded in 1981 and intended to be the third studio album by the band The Motels.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michael Graves (audio engineer)</span> American audio engineer, born 1968

Michael Graves is an American mastering engineer. He specializes in audio restoration and audio preservation. Graves is a four-time Grammy award-winner and a thirteen-time Grammy nominee. He is widely considered one of the best audio engineers in his field. Country singer Hank Williams' daughter Jett praised Graves' work on her father's Grammy-winning album The Garden Spot Programs, 1950, calling it "the best restoration I’ve ever heard before, the 1% of 1% of restoration engineering."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Omnivore Recordings</span> American independent record label founded 2010

Omnivore Recordings is an independent record label founded in 2010. It specializes in historical releases, reissues and previously unissued vintage recordings, as well as select releases of new music, on CD, vinyl and digital formats. Omnivore Recordings is a part of Omnivore Entertainment Group LLC, which also incorporates sister companies Omnivore Music Publishing and Omnivore Creative, which provides A&R and art direction/design consulting for recording artists, artist estates, and other record labels.

Cheryl Pawelski is an American record producer and record-company executive. Since 2010, she has been one of the founder/owners of Omnivore Recordings, a Los Angeles-based record label specializing in historical releases, reissues and previously unissued vintage recordings, as well as select releases of new music.

<i>Debutante</i> (Cait Brennan album) 2016 studio album by Cait Brennan

Debutante is the debut full-length album released by American singer-songwriter Cait Brennan, released on January 22, 2016. The album was independently produced and released on Brennan's own label, Black Market Glamour, and initially sold in small numbers online and through mail-order only. Debutante was a surprise critical favorite, placing highly on multiple lists of the best albums of 2016, including WFMU, Popdose, and the Village Voice Pazz & Jop poll. Its success led Brennan to an initial demo recording deal with Seymour Stein and Sire Records, followed by a long term recording deal with Omnivore Recordings, who will release Brennan's debut for the label, Third, on April 21, 2017.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chris Price (musician)</span> Musical artist

Chris Price is an American musician, singer and record producer. He has released three albums to date as a solo artist, including Homesick in 2012, Stop Talking in 2017, and Dalmatian, which was released on March 2, 2018. He is also known as the producer of the 2014 album The Soul of All Natural Things by Linda Perhacs and as the producer of the 2016 album Rainbow Ends by Emitt Rhodes. Price is also a member of the bands Taylor Locke and The Roughs and Bebopalula.

<i>The Complete Warner Bros.–Seven Arts Recordings</i> 2018 compilation album by Vince Guaraldi

The Complete Warner Bros.–Seven Arts Recordings is a double CD compilation of songs by American jazz pianist/composer Vince Guaraldi released by Omnivore Recordings on July 6, 2018. It contains 30 tracks, containing remastered versions of Guaraldi's complete recorded output for Warner Bros.-Seven Arts, plus four bonus tracks.

References

  1. ↑ "Paste - Watch the Teaser for Cait Brennan's Psychedelic Soul-Glam Barnburner 'Third'". Paste Magazine. Retrieved 3 March 2017.
  2. ↑ "Village Voice -Best Of 2016 Village Voice Pazz & Jop Critics' Poll". Village Voice. 25 January 2017. Retrieved 25 February 2017.
  3. 1 2 "Conqueroo - Cait Brennan's Third Charts Its Own Groundbreaking Path". Conqueroo. Retrieved 24 February 2017.[ permanent dead link ]
  4. 1 2 3 "New Release - Cait Brennan on Omnivore". Ardent Studios. 24 February 2017. Retrieved 25 February 2017.
  5. ↑ "Pause And Play - Updates / Additions: Jack Ingram, Cait Brennan, etc". 2016-05-07. Retrieved 2016-06-17.
  6. 1 2 "Phoenix New Times - After A Rough 2016, Cait Brennan Is Back In The Crowdfunding Game" . Retrieved 2017-02-25.
  7. 1 2 "Daily Country - Cait Brennan's Groundbreaking "Third"" . Retrieved 2017-02-25.
  8. ↑ "Pause And Play - New Releases: April 21, 2017". 2017-03-02. Retrieved 2017-03-03.
  9. ↑ "Credits -Cait Brennan Third". Discogs. 21 April 2017. Retrieved 14 December 2017.
  10. 1 2 3 4 5 Keith Creighton (18 April 2017). "The Popdose Interview: Cait Brennan". Popdose. Retrieved 14 December 2017.
  11. 1 2 3 Greene, Alex (8 May 2017). "Review: Cait Brennan: Transforming Glam" . Retrieved 14 December 2017.
  12. 1 2 Jackson Truax (20 April 2017). "Cait Brennan Release Show Preview". LA Weekly . Retrieved 14 December 2017.
  13. 1 2 Keith, John Paul (19 October 2017). "Review: Cait Brennan: Transforming Glam" . Retrieved 14 December 2017.
  14. 1 2 Jacob Anderson-Minshall (8 September 2017). "Rock's Next Big Thing: Trans Girl Cait Brennan". The Advocate . Retrieved 14 December 2017.
  15. ↑ "Omnivore Recordings - Cait Brennan's Third". 21 April 2017. Retrieved 14 December 2017.
  16. 1 2 Stephen Thomas Erlewine (12 December 2017). "Best Albums Of 2017". Medium . Retrieved 14 December 2017.
  17. ↑ Grant Lindner (27 April 2017). "Cait Brennan: Third". Spectrum Culture. Retrieved 14 December 2017.
  18. ↑ Borack, John (January 31, 2018). "25 Best Albums of 2017". Goldmine Magazine: Record Collector & Music Memorabilia. Retrieved February 11, 2018.
  19. ↑ "Evan "Funk" Davies - WFMU Playlists - Best of 2017". January 3, 2018. Retrieved February 11, 2018.
  20. ↑ "The Best Things We Heard In 2017". December 19, 2017. Retrieved February 11, 2018.
  21. ↑ "10 Best Albums of 2017". December 12, 2017. Retrieved December 14, 2017.
  22. ↑ Creighton, Keith (11 December 2017). "Best of 2017: Ten Albums for the Buy-Curious" . Retrieved 11 December 2017.
  23. ↑ Haber, Alan (January 14, 2018). "Alan Haber's Pure Pop - Stars of 2017" . Retrieved 11 February 2018.
  24. ↑ "WPKN - Eric Cocks' Connections - Favourite Songs Of 2017". January 1, 2018. Retrieved February 11, 2018.
  25. ↑ "Albums Of The Year 2017". January 14, 2018. Retrieved 11 February 2018.
  26. ↑ "iTunes - Cait Brennan 'Third'". iTunes . 21 April 2017. Retrieved 11 December 2017.
  27. ↑ Third (liner notes). Cait Brennan. Omnivore Recordings. 2017.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.