Rating: ****
Todd Brozman was a bit of a child prodigy on the piano back in the day as he began tapping the old ivory at age 6. That led him to learn a myriad of instruments as a youth and dive headfirst into a love of music.
By the time he was in college, he had a radio show that played different types of tunes and from there he began to have an affinity for electronic and ambient music. Naturally, by the time he was ready to record his stuff, his taste had become somewhat eclectic.
Which brings us to today. Me listening to what promises to be an EP full of those influences blending under the moniker Proud Creature and a record titled "Opening Creature."
I'm about to sip some quarantine coffee and have a listen. I'll report back because it's all I know how to do really.
Watch the music video for "Major Trouble" on Youtube below:
Things open up with "Major Trouble" and it's a hypnotic gem to start things off. This sounds like the soundtrack to one of those crazy anime movies from the early '90s. I dig that. "Discovery of the Future" is a little more haunting, especially in headphones. So much so that it even became slightly unsettling. Perfect name for the track in that case. "The Rookery" is next and it again displays a sparseness that somehow manages to become denser as the song goes along. You can hear so many things bubbling just below the surface. Mesmerizing. "Pines" uses a soundscape that makes you feel like your listening to the hum of an electric forest. Another really solid track here. The EP ends on "Eastern Lines". It might be my least favorite track on the far too short record, but that's not to say it's bad. It's quite good. Just in the context of the rest of the EP, it falls a little flat.
I think this EP works for fans of ambient electronic music fans and general musical connoisseurs alike. Not a bad track in the bunch, with the first 4 tracks being exceptional. I highly recommend this one.