New York, NY (Top40 Charts) Troubadour and pianist, Brendan
James will release his latest Leap Taken on October 20th and it is his first full length album following 2015's The Howl EP and 2013's Playing Favorites LP.
The majority of the material was written overseas while Brendan was traveling around the world with his wife and preschool aged children. They sold their home and took a once in a lifetime trip to experience different cultures and climates all while growing closer as a family.
Leap Taken is a natural sonic evolution for the songwriter. While staying true to his intimate and expressive piano based songs, the production takes its cues from contemporary singer-songwriters like Maggie Rogers, Adele, and Sam Smith
and enhances the songs with lush synthesizers juxtaposed with warm acoustic guitars and vocals. The songs touch upon long-term romantic love ("
Warrior"), the wonder and heartache of watching children grow up ("Penny," "Through Our Hands," "
Barcelona") and the new abnormal of living through a global pandemic while our society struggles ("Day By Day," "Alone Together") The LP was co-produced by
Craig Meyer (Rachel Platten, Marc Scabilia) and Brendan, and Jonas Jalhay (Jason Mraz, Meghan Trainor, Amine, Post Malone, Big Sean, DJ Khaled) mixed it and provided additional post-production needs.
Following a successful North American tour in 2019, Brendan originally planned to release his new material in March 2020, but ended up rethinking his release plan as the world adjusted to life during a global pandemic. "This album was a two-year journey for me, that started in Holland and ended in Charleston, says James. "It's a collection of songs about searching for self, searching for love, traveling, raising children, and navigating a path to further self-actualization."
Leading up to the album, Brendan has released a series of singles including, "
Day By Day" via The Big Takeover who raved, "the engaging and perceptive track is of this current moment in time where we're all hanging on and wondering what tomorrow will bring. James' view is to de-stress and stay in the zone by taking life day by day, so as not to be overwhelmed by it all.
James sings in a calm and clarion tone against softly pressed piano notes, gentle, but radiant acoustic guitar strum, a relaxed drum beat, and lightly shaken percussion. His warm tone emanates on the verses and then flies upwards in a wistfully keening lilt on the chorus sections."
Parade Magazine premiered "Alone Together," one of the two tracks recorded during quarantine and not overseas. They cheer, "Alone Together" is pop with a mission. With stark vocals that deliver his powerful message,
James pushes us to reach for connection today, more than ever."
"Through Our Hands," is a snapshot of Brendan's trip with his children and premiered via American Songwriter who exclaimed, "lush production elevates the endearing and tender song, with James' delicate voice dancing lightly above the warm mix of pianos, guitars and background vocals. It's clear from the artist's own words that he aims to touch the listener's heart in every song."
In 2018, Brendan took a hiatus from touring, sold his house and hit the road for a once in a lifetime trip around the world with his wife and pre-school aged children. The journey brought the family closer together and inspired a batch of new songs. Brendan wrote the majority of the material for Leap Taken on his laptop while traveling with his family, save for two new songs that were written in quarantine.
Brendan and family began their globe-spanning trip in Holland and traveled to England, France, Italy, Croatia, Spain, Iceland, Rwanda, Thailand, and New Zealand staying in each country a minimum of fifteen days. They avoided tourist attractions, sought out local playgrounds and shopped at grocery stores to cook family meals together. The best part of the trip for the songwriter was going to sleep and waking up as a family every day for six months.
"That trip around the world was fuel for my soul," says Brendan. "I did nothing but hang with my family and write new songs. It was incredible."
