The music of Franklin Bruno is resilient. His brand of American indie, whether in Nothing Painted Blue or another venture, offers a robust reaffirmation of the power of well-crafted pop that both pleases the mind and heart. The new release from his band The Human Hearts dropped without enough fanfare. So today I'm going to blow my trumpet about Viable.
This collection includes "Loyal Opposition" and "Distracted", two singles with vocals from Jenny Toomey (Tsunami). I've been a fan of these for a spell, and I'm happy to see the cuts in front of the public here. They sit nicely next to Bruno's own vocal turns on the punchy "Inland Valley Water Table Blues" and "Flag Pin", the smart opener. The swirling hook of "Giving It Away" finds Bruno blending a nearly jazzy melodic line with his impassioned vocals, while the harder "Art Books" revs up and loops around on itself with a big chorus. It's punk-y, but full of melodic heft. Conversely, "Nick Cave" finds Bruno using strings and a plaintive piano-figure for maximum effect, under his sharply-observed lyrics.
Franklin Bruno brings an almost classicist approach to his material. While there's variety here in this compilation, Bruno's consistency is what stands out. The material all sounds well-crafted, enough that this sits apart from lots of the music of his peers where a coy vocal-line or a fuzzy guitar-riff were what anchored an indie number. Franklin's talents adapt to genre shifts, and multiple guests (Jenny Toomey, of course, as well as Jean Cook of Beauty Pill, among others), but Viable offers tightly-constructed numbers that succeed because there's a smartness at work here. A neat balancing of the needs for an emotional, melodic hook, and the performer's desire to offer something complex, every number here is a little gem of its own. Some of us already knew about Bruno's talents, and here's hoping that Viable gets the word out even more.
Viable by The Human Hearts is out now. Details below via Bandcamp.
[Photo: Franklin Bruno / The Human Hearts Bandcamp]