BRYAN ESTEPA – VESSELS
Bryan Estepa hones the art of indie pop with sandy-beach overtones on his 3rd album, an album full of gorgeous melodies and instant classics. The Sydney singer-songwriter has created a joyful bunch of tunes that have a way of sounding comfortingly familiar, those catchy pop hooks will do it, but it is the lyrics that paint a well-known picture of love and happiness. There is no anger on this album, even the angst-y piano that takes a beating adds some flavour to the designs. Bryan seems like a man who’ll take anything in his stride, a laidback ranger who’s mantra is to just let-it-be, in fact he seems to be channelling the Beatles in Let it Go : “Should your luck run out/and the birds have flown south/just let it go/just let it go honey.” Vessels might be an album that suggests a drifter searching for his place in the world, but Bryan’s wise tunes make me think of a man who has his feet planted firmly on the ground. ***.5
