Reviews of Pink Humpy debut EP

"i have been meaning to write this ever since i got back from new york
but man i checked your cd and i dig it.great vox great harmonies and
theres even a song about emilie but i think my favorite was.new jersey
transit train.emilie.without you.
i also check your website every now and then.on my travels i will bump
into you literally at some point.
peace
jones" www.keziahjones.com (get his CD Black Orpheus, it's awesome!)

"Your CD is GREAT! That is the type of music that I am into. I dig your bluesy riffs and you have a great voice! Can I have a couple copies for my friends? I really think they would like it a lot"
- Joe D, Philadelphia

"the cd is freakin' awesome ... i listened to it on the (long) way home and loved it. brendan, if you don't get a record deal then there's something seriously wrong with the world! it's really great - if you want me to distribute any copies to my friends in va and elsewhere just let me know, cause i think a lot of them would like it"
- rhi, NYC

"What I like about it is that I think it's very original material, an original sound. It's hard to fit it into a specific category which I always say of music that I like because it is original and not copying other's work. And in my opinion there are not that many original sounding people - i hate all those kids trying to sound exactly like Dave Matthews (I don't like Dave Matthews either). The sound is very smooth, sensual - if I had to compare it to anyone I would say he sounds like the male equivalent to Sade. Also the instrumental is very addictive, clear and reminds me of listening to classical guitar which I love. His voice as well as the instrumental flows together really well. okay if I weren't friends with you guys I would have sex to this CD but since I know you it would feel like an orgy. Way to go Brendan"
- amy, Seattle

"I like the drum work: smooth and simple. I like the skat on Pillow Case! You have a great voice. I like your harmony work. Keep that up. So many bands/performers skip that when they never realize that all of the successful acts nail harmonies. Your style is slightly reminiscent to John Mayer."
- Mike - Malvern, PA

"Hey, my name is Chris. I saw your show at Steel City in Phoenixville the other day and asked for the demo. I'm just emailing you back with a review of it. First off, congratulations on writing and recording an EP all yourself. That's tough and you did a good job of it. I am also a musician and a singer/songwriter so I thought I'd give you a track by track review if you ever decide to rerecord or get signed (knock on wood).
Track 1 (Come Inside) - this track has a very cool and jazzy chord groove progression. I also really like the tone you have with your acoustic (is that a Taylor?).
Track 2 (Pillowcase) - you played this live so i knew the name. The guitar on this track just sings. The drums were a nice compliment but it might sound even better if you experimented with some brushes (they'd work really well with the jazzy sound). But this song was real good, one of my favorites on the CD.
Track 3 (Emily) - Great guitar sound again and a really interesting chord on the line "stay with me tonight". works well. Also the bridge was very tight. Good song overall.
Track 4 (Without You) - The electric guitar complimented the song very well on this track. Also i liked the vocal separation (that was both you, right?) on this track, very interesting idea. This track i thought had the overall best sound quality on the CD.
Track 5 (Jersey Transit Train) - very creative intro. I really liked the drawn out words/notes in contrast to the fast tempoed rhythm. Cool time signatures and cadences, great solo and great trck overall, my favorite"
Track 6 (Run) - interesting changes in rhythm and percussion, sounds a little disjointed though. Could use a transition to the different rhythm sections but a good closing song.
So in review, it was a great demo, congrats again. Let me know when your next gig is and i'll try and bring some people to listen."
- Chris, Boston College

Pink Humpy Brendan Brennan
Reviews by Home Recording Peers:
Jersey Transit Train:

"YO! What a groove! This is kicking serious ass! The drums are spot on level and choo-chooin' this bad boy all over Jersey. Cool bass groove. This is solid.
How'd you get that acoustic sound at the beginning? I'm trying to get that kind of level. But I gotta say I would have liked the solo(s) a bit more up-in-my-face acoustic souding - I'm just curious why you went the route of the more distanced mic. You obviously know what you're doing - now I have two reasons to visit Philly - your friend's folksy group and your super jammin.! Love it, man - keeper file right now.
~Milan "

"Christ, I am digging this a ton. I am going to crank this up when I get home.

I hadn't really heard anything from you yet Brendan, but after seeing you reply to my posts, I was ready to check it out!

I'm super glad I did, and yeah, I'm very impressed all the way round. Vocals, groove, instruments, all of it. Kicks my ass, so I guess I must fall into either the jazzhead, or musician category.

So cool, thanks for that.

Brendan, I'm in love with this song. Seriously. And, I think it's Jazz/Funk.
I'd call it Junk.

It is outstanding in my ears. Very genre mixing. Which is what a lot of us seem to do, in this forum, and I am all the happier for it. Makes music stay interesting!
I love it, I love it, I love it. I keep harmonizing with it in ways that you didn't. Love singing along with this. Even though I don't know what the rest of the words are. if you get the chance and want to post them all, I'd like that. Maybe you have...I'll go check the post again...

It's like beat poetry. I knew the lyrics were cool!

Definitely I heard the Steely Dan reference on the section just before the "verse" starts up...I don't know how to technically refer to this, but it holds the chord for part of a beat and then two measures before the groove comes back in.

-Kirstin"

"Too many people throw the word 'jazz' at something, I'm afraid. This piece has nothing to do with jazz at all.

It is, though, extremely good and highly individual. I think references to Skaggs, Benson and Prince etc are closer, and Kirstin's reference to 'beat poetry' is also perceptive and well chosen. Perhaps maybe a touch of Steely Dan, too.

My only criticism is the harmonics intro, which I think is too long - and reminded me of Steve Howe's harmonics intro to And you and I from Yes's Close to the edge album.

It's really nice to hear something so different - and clearly difficult for people to categorise. More!
- Kaszper"

"Man, I have no idea how to classify your music. I keep thinking it's like "smooth acoustic funk". I saw Prince in concert last year, he said he read an article that was trying to describe funk, but if you can describe it, it ain't funky. Anyways...

This is a freakin' great tune man, I'm a big fan of your style and mood. I also really dig the drums, what are they?
-lynx "

"This is great. I really enjoyed it Brendan. Sweet and I really look farward to more. Just wanted to say it was good listening

Erland"

"I like the tune man....and the guit playing and tone are stellar....
Harmonics at the beginning are really cool.....so is the lead in...
The bass is booming like crazy on my monitors though....to the point of clipping....
vocals are nice man....but the harmony vox seems to go in and out of sync with the lead.....or...they just change occasionally timing wise....I dunno......a performance thing I think...probably intentional and I being a know nothing hack when it comes to this stuff...well...what do I know anyways...

I enjoyed the listen very much man....you wail on the guit....
Joe"

"I listened to Jersey Transit Train. I liked your guitar playing. I thought it was recorded well too. Your voice has a nice tone and presence. So I guess I would agree with the others who say you have a nice voice. The song suits your vocal style."
- TripleM, Northern Chicago - from www.Homerecording.com/bbs

"Without You: Definitely like the music.. kind of jazzy, adult contemporary.. Good toon"
- Participant, Salt Lake - from www.homerecording.com/bbs

"Nice tunes....nice singing.....nice guitar playing ..... all very good. The mix, though, mushy to me. The different parts need some definition and separation. And everything sounds like it was cut just the least bit too hot. This is real good stuff man, I'd really like to hear it a couple mixes down the road 'cause it should be pretty amazing"
- Lt. Bob, Louisiana - from www.homerecording.com/bbs

"My favorite song on your album is "Pillowcase". There is something about that song that really intrigues me. Each time I listen to it I hear something different that I like. I have noticed so many different messages or themes running through it. I try to interpret in different ways each time.
"After You" tied as my second favorite song on your album. It had real depth and meaning. Another song that I could read into on many levels. It felt like you were really talking to your audience on some level in this song.
"Without You" was also my second favorite. It had a real Santana beginning. It was kinda trippy. I like how your voice went down in parts. It gave your vocals a new effect. There was the romantic tone to this song that was an attention getter for me.
The fade in and out effect of "Run" was interesting. There is something different about this song that makes it cool. I really don't know how to describe the intriguing side of this song. Maybe it is the repetitive verses. Not sure. I have to give this more thought.
You're going to make it big one day soon and I will be proud to know you as you were up and coming. Peace out"
- H-Town, D.C.

"So here's a little of my musical background so you know where I'm coming from. I started playing the drums professionally when I was in high school (and that was a LONG time ago...) and most ofmy early "career" was spent playing for top-40/lounge bands. In the last 6 years or so I've played lots of musicals as a pit drummer, which suits me because big band is my favorite style of music, and most of the "classic" musicals are written in the swing/big-band style.
I've also done live sound for my friends who are *real* musicians. www.boykatindig.com. I'm from Hawaii, and when Boy lived there in the mid-90's, my best friend Mark Tanouye (look in the "played with" page) was playing bass with Boy and they needed a sound guy. I mixed them for about 6 months and did one impromptu recording to ADAT.
www.bennyworld.com Benny grew up in Hawaii as well, and on his discography page, there's a group called the Outtakes. That was Benny with his high school friends, doing music that they had all written over the years. The drummer was my teacher, and when Benny was in town, the Outtakes would gig and they, too, needed a sound guy. So I didn't actually get to know Benny until about '96 or so, although his reputation was legendary, as you might imagine. He got me tickets to Santana last year, and it was freakin' awesome!
So my tastes lean toward the less-is-more, acoustic style of production. That said: This is an excellent recording. You have an awesome voice that would stand out against most any of the stuff I hear on the radio. The vocals and instruments are all very cleanly recorded, and the overall mix is balanced nicely. I really want to stress that this is an impressive performance; keep chasing the dream!"
- Rhett, www.turbobuick.com

"Skibby-do-wow man, that one smooth cat peckin da vibes man.. Seriously, that sounds awesome!"
- TurboJim, Rockaway, NJ, www.turbobuick.com

"Damn that is some smooth groove. The voice was great."
- IrvJr, Orlando FL, www.turbobuick.com

"That's real decent! I've got a home studio myself. What gear are you running. Particularly vocal mic/preamp.. very nice "real" sound on that recording"
- Zam70, Springfield, IL, www.turbobuick.com

"Wow man I just listened I was lovin it. Keep it up. You got an awesome voice"
- qbano65, Schaumburg, IL, www.turbobuick.com

"Awwwww yeah... You have a good voice there, brother. Nice guitar chops and effects. Excellent singing! One of the better vocalists I have heard around here in a long time"
- Village Idiot, www.homerecording.com/bbs