Recording from his bedroom studio in Crystal River, Florida, multi-instrumentalist Michael Thomas Brown explores existential questions within a dynamic rock sound on his debut solo project, Dreams, Monsters, and the Universe. A former orchestral composer whose works have appeared globally on television, Brown transitioned to this intimate vocal format while undergoing treatment for Stage IV cancer. The album serves as a therapeutic concept piece, balancing the physics of resilience with raw, self-produced arrangements that stretch from dreamily spacious to eerily intense.
Commencing the album with heartfelt, hooky allure, “I Think My House Is Falling Down” is exemplary of Brown’s memorable songwriting. “Dreaming of a starlit sky, a billion different points of life,” an introspective vocal begins amidst starry-eyed synths, then moving into jangly guitar warmness and a melodic title-bearing proclamation. The analogy of a crumbling home to existential reckoning and the collapse of personal identity stirs alongside the harmonious instrumentation. More self-introspection arrives on “I’m a Monster,” where its perspectives on things not quite being “what it seems” intertwine with a sense of psychological invasion; the predatory nature of the subconscious, and the ominous motives of someone perceived as a partner, envelop within a moody production punctuated by soaring guitar work.
Perspectives of danger, even in the comforts of one’s own room, continue with “Ghost.” “I think I saw a ghost in the corner of my room,” the vocals begin. “It must be here to kill me, I can only assume.” The verses reignite themes of lost identity — where a stranger “wearing my face” invades the narrator’s reality, hinting at the omission of medication as a doorway to a paralyzing, ghostly presence. “Waking Up” then furthers the nocturnal narrative, its insomnia-addled perspectives and yearning for sleep/rest combining with lush acoustic strums and twangy glistening for another standout piece of songwriting. Filled with both melodic productions and heartfelt, vulnerable thematic explorations, Dreams, Monsters, and the Universe is an affecting album from Michael Thomas Brown.
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“I Think My House Is Falling Down” and other tracks featured this month can be streamed on the updating Obscure Sound’s ‘Emerging Singles’ Spotify playlist.
The post Michael Thomas Brown – ‘Dreams, Monsters, and the Universe’ appeared first on Obscure Sound: Indie Music Blog.
