REVIEW: Old Man Brandon : FLOWERS (Album)

 

Artist: Old Man Brandon

Album: Flowers

Old Man Brandon brand new album release: Flowers

Releasing 25th August on major streaming platforms

The brand new album “Flowers” by Old Man Brandon features 10 songs. The songs throughout the album are in a hip-hop genre style with lyrically content referencing forgiveness, acceptance, belief and the self. These are all performed by the amazingly talented Old Man Brandon who ensures that every line, verse and song are all personal, truthful and allows the listener to learn about the artist. I will be breaking down each of the songs on the album then talking a bit more about the album as a whole. 

I Would Die 4 U

The opening track of the album is a great tell tale sign that the rest of the album is going to be brilliant. The old school beats and deep bass on the tracks work beautifully together with the crisp vocals and lyrics. The chorus features a smooth sound that fits perfectly with the vocals of Old Man Brandon. The song has a faint vinyl effect on it which brings the tracks conclusion together well with a touch of nostalgia. Produced by Mark Goble

Breakthrough

To open the 2nd track, a soft piano sets the tone of emotion as the lyrics also depict. The song sets the story of having a breakthrough in therapy with mental illness. The song mentions finally giving flowers to the artist himself a message towards giving themself the forgiveness, faith and love that is always firstly given to others.

Cocoa Beach

The 3rd track for the album, Cocoa Beach was released prior to the album (July 28th 2023). The hard hitting bass and beats for this song ensure the high energy of the lyrics is perfectly matched to the instrumental.  Overall, the song is laid back but high energy. Produced by Anywaywell.

Advent Health

Another beautiful piano intro for Advent Health, the 4th song on the album. The lyrics depict a very personal experience from Old Man Brandon that is emotionally matched with the powerful instrumental. The song plays as somewhat of an advertisement sharing how Advent Health greatly helped the artist and their family during times of struggle with no judgement. 

My Biggest Fans

My Biggest Fans is a high energy track dedicated to the biggest fans of Old Man Brandon (as the title suggests). It is a heartfelt message towards the audience discussing Old Man Brandons past in the music industry and his previous name in music which he stopped using following him finding God and finding a connection to Jesus Christ. This song depicts some of his story of faith and support that he has in his fans. Produced by Yung Nab

Jesus Saves

The sampling instrumental of the song is an interesting choice for the song but is unique which is a perfect way to share Old Man Brandon’s unique sound. The song is about the artists experience with religion and Jesus Christ and the challenges people have given him after accepting God. Jesus Saves released August 4th prior to album release. Produced by Taylor Made

Play Me A Violin

Another emotional track for the album, featuring a beautiful violin melody (as expected). The lyrics share a personal experience of growing up and growing as an artist. The hard hitting drums are direct oppositions of the soft pianos and violins but fit great together. The expression to play someone like a violin typically refers to manipulating or controlling someone.

Flowers

The title track for the album and the 8th song of the album has a hard hitting opener speaking directly to the artists friends and family who are a great support to the music. The idea of flowers is brought back, this time as a thank you towards the family and friends around him. In the song, he thanks God for creating the flowers, giving him a soul and allowing him to thank those who have helped and cared for him. The album art is also mentioned in this song as a reference to his potential significant other. Produced by Mark Goble

Keep Watching

The 9th album track, Keep Watching tells the story of making music a career. The song shares the hard work and learning that the artist has put into his art to make it as best as it can be. “Started from the bottom, now i’m heading for the top”. No matter the struggles the artist may go through, the theme of this song is to fight through and keep fighting to get to the top whilst others are just talking or watching. Produced by Anno Domini

To My Therapist

The final track of this brilliant album is an emotional story of therapy and how it changed his life. It shares how the therapist saw a lot of Old Man Brandon’s life and helped to transform him to the person he is today. The song is a reflection of looking back on the past and hindsight. The voice adlibs in the background of the song add to the effect of story telling and reflection by repeating phrases being sung. The song is easy to relate to and brutally honest.  Produced by OBMP

Throughout the album, there are a few instances where Old Man Brandon mentions handing out flowers. These mentions are in I Would Die 4 U, My Biggest Fans, Breakthrough and Flowers. They are a direct reflection of the title of the album and can be seen as a reference to sharing love or faith in people with the idea of gifting flowers. It is clear that the album is structured in such a way that the stories told throughout are meant to give the listener an understanding of pain, struggle, truth and faith at different times whilst still being brilliant to listen to. A few of the songs (my personal favourite being Breakthrough and To My Therapist) contain relatable topics which are often underrepresented in today's media.

A strong theme throughout this album is the connection with God that Old Man Brandon has found and wants to share with others. He wants to share his experiences and create a positive message behind them to allow others to both learn from his experiences and grow just like he has done without fear of judgement.

After listening to the full album for a few times (in order), I found that the messages throughout got clearer as time passed. The overall sound was incredibly high quality and to a professional standard. The vocals were clear, well structured and lyrically the complete album was in depth and beautifully written. Another note to make for the lyrical content is that no song on the album seems to follow the rubber stamp commonly used in most hip hop and instead focuses on true stories, messages and experiences. It is clear that Old Man Brandon has experience in music and writing and can depict his stories in musical form with great artistic intent and integrity. His songs are unique and brutally honest at times. The album is most definitely worth a listen and will be heard for years to come. By the end of the album, I found that the first thought after 1st completion was that life is too short and that there are always people around you who truly love you and will support you, as tough as it may be at times.

Finally, before ending this, I wanted to make a note about the album art. It is amazing. The image of the woman (potentially a significant other as mentioned in the song Flowers) with flowers decorating the side of the face and head. This is a beautiful reference to the albums messages.

Maybe the flowers were inside us all along. 

Find the music of Old Man Brandon here: https://songwhip.com/oldmanbrandon The album is set to release on the 25th of August 2023. Make sure to save it before then and get listening when it releases! It will be more than worth the wait. 

Overall rating: 8/10

Written by Kole Cook

@Kolecookmusic