BRANDON WIARD: Painting A Burning Building

Brandon Wiard

Painting A Burning Building

© 2004 Brandon Wiard (634479870323)

CD IN STOCK. ORDER NOW. Will ship immediately.

Lush indie-pop. For fans of Ben Kweller, Elvis Costello, Wilco, Weezer, Rufus Wainwright, Old 97's, Teenage Fanclub and The Beatles.

notes

PAINTING A BURNING BUILDING is the latest release from Ypsilanti-based indie-pop standard-bearer Brandon Wiard, his third solo release to date.

PAINTING A BURNING BUILDING was tracked at Big Sky Studios (Ann Arbor, MI), Pop Squad Studios (Hollywood, CA) and Studio C (Grand Rapids, MI). The entire album was mixed at Big Sky Studios (Ann Arbor, MI) and mastered at Sound on Sound Recording (New York, NY).

"I'm learning to be cynical..." Brandon Wiard dead-panned to a reporter. This would most likely be the "effect" to the "cause" found on his latest epic-release PAINTING A BURNING BUILDING. Tales of love, loss, growing up and hope penned by this 24 yr. old "boy genius". Lush indie-pop intended for tight-fitting headphones and attentive listening.

PAINTING A BURNING BUILDING's charm lies within it's chameleon like approach to songwriting/production. Songs like "Already In Amazement" (temptations of an "other woman"), "Since You've Gone Away" (loss of friends/family/love) and "Moving On" (relationship's end) lean more on the Cars-esque rock tendencies with squealing synth/chunky guitars. Then you have the Costello-ed "I'll Write These Songs" (generational gap), the soulful "Permanent Smile" (growing up), the Sebadoh-ed rocker "KMS" (office-crush) and the Old 97's/Built To Spill thriller "Loose Women" (the title says it all). Once we arrive at the end of the disc things take a turn for the Brian Wilson. "Old Heartless Sun" (voyage gone wrong) is a proggish electro-sea chantey. "Second Story" (secret admirer) is a warm Wilco-esque tune that goes into a "KMS" reprise and then an extremely somber sound collage. "Seeing You In No Time" (train-wreck and suicide) is another proggish tune which goes into a "Since You've Gone Away" reprise and yet another atmospheric sound collage that ends the album. Hidden in the mixes on this masterpiece are members of Ozma, The Singles, The Verve Pipe, Blues Traveler, Saturday Looks Good To Me and The Original Brothers and Sisters Of Love.

It all started singing Hall & Oates' "Maneater" in a stroller at JC Penney's...Brandon Wiard was born into a family of apple growers in a small Michigan town but he always knew he'd make his own path. Art was his passion but music had to fill his ears 24 hours a day. He was an addict. When there was no radio in sight he would simply replay songs he knew in his head to get his fix. You can only be an addict for so long before you start dealing. It was in the middle of his sophomore year of highschool (prep. school...unfortunately he only focused on art/English/Latin) that some friends wanted to form a band and Brandon became the singer-songwriter for the group. The group wasn't very good so Brandon quickly formed a new group, with friend Eric Sloat, and dubbed the project "Starmotel". A mix of indie-rock and classic pop sensibility, the band meandered over the next three years.

Eventually Eric left for college and Wiard started his solo career in the fall of 2001. TO SOMEONE I KNOW, a collection of his own songs and some co-written with Sloat, was independently released in November 2001. In lieu of having a band he performed his arsenal of songs with just an acoustic guitar and a golden throat. In between the 2 albums Wiard released SUPER SECRET DOUBLE AWESOME JAPANESE IMPORT B-SIDE COLLECTION, a collection of 17 solo and band demos. To date he has opened for the likes of such acts as Mason Jennings, David Dondero, Hey Mercedes, Clem Snide, Joseph Arthur, Mike Watt, Ours, The Church, The Divine Comedy, Ryan Cabrera and many others. He has toured nationally, playing such venues as The Knitting Factory (Hollywood, CA), Maxwell's (Hoboken, NJ), Clutch Cargo's (Detroit, MI) and The Bluebird Theater (Denver, CO). He has just played the 2004 Midpoint Music Festival (Cincinnati, OH), Dewey Beach Music Fest (Dewey Beach, DE) and M.E.A.N.Y. FEST 2004 (New York, NY). His self-created video for "Miss Michigan" (feat. Andrew WK) received heavy play this fall (nationwide and on MTV Latin America) and PAINTING A BURNING BUILDING reached #179 on the CMJ charts (was 16th most added it's first week).

Brandon has assembled a group dubbed "His Army" (feat. David Brown {bass}, Chris DuRoss {lead guitar}, Carly Pichini {trumpet, piano, guitar, backing vocals} and Adrian Robles {drums, backing vocals}) and has been performing tracks from PAINTING A BURNING BUILDING with the same tenacity he put into recording them.

"Catch him while he's catchable" as one reporter put it.


"He could have continued to grow slowly and safely, but instead he dove in head first, and came out with a fantastic album that ought to put him on the map."
Pitchfork Media review of "Painting A Burning Building"
Rating: 8.1 (highest rated that day)

"Top notch all the way."
Aiding & Abetting review of "Painting A Burning Building"

"...nice production work throughout..."
All Music Guide review of "Painting A Burning Building"

"...it's the surprises he throws in along the way that make "Painting a Burning Building," such an aural pleasure...in a good, Brian Wilson kind of way"
Ann Arbor News review of "Painting A Burning Building

"...a pop-music singer-songwriter of a caliber that defies both his youth and his quiet nature..." -Ann Arbor News full-page article entitled: "Wiard For Sound"

"...building a bridge between the singer-songwriter genre and British-sounding indie pop-rock...but Brandon Wiard does it more convincingly than in most cases."
Past & Present review of "Painting A Burning Building"
(DENMARK)

"...bright and breezy slice of pop that contains as much melody as a Hershey bar contains life-threatening levels of sugar, you won't consume any better than this."
Glory Daze review of "Painting A Burning Building"
NEW ZEALAND)

"...acoustic guitars, violins, piano, electronic sounds, indie-rock fuzz guitar and purely stellar songwriting to create a sound not unlike Jason Falkner or Ben Folds."
Real Detroit Weekly show preview

"...Rilo Kiley in their 'Takeoffs and Landings' days but if Jenny Lewis was John Mayer. And rocked harder...I'm surprised I haven't heard this on the the radio before."
Sound The Sirens review of "Painting A Burning Building"

"From its ballads to its rock 'n' roll romps, the album has nothing but good intentions to make you feel a little misty-eyed, but mostly ready for life and love."
Cloak & Dagger Media review of "Painting A Burning Building"

"Ann Arbor's hardest working pop singer-songwriter...songs that run the gamut of pop-rock emotion with a similiarly idiosyncratic brand of lyrical craftiness."
Real Detroit Weekly review of "Painting A Burning Building"

"Songs like 'Miss Michigan' will not just give warmth to the CMJ crowd but also to those casual observers of pop flare."
Smother.net review of "Painting A Burning Building" (Editor's Pick)

"Painting A Burning Building only confirms what I knew all along, Brandon Wiard is a masterful songwriter who isn't afraid to take chances in the studio,
chances that are bound to pay off."
The Pit Monthly (Flint, MI) front-page article entitled: "Wiard For Success"

"Painting A Burning Building is a stunner-hook laden and sincally intricate, while never obscuring Wiard's unusual melodies and heartfelt evocative songs...
12 tracks represent a singer and a songwriter of unusual depth and talent. Ranging from lush sea chanteys to heart-shattering love songs,
the record exceeds the sum of its considerable parts."
Ann Arbor News Spotlight cover story

"WOW! Love when these great CD's arrive out of the blue---never heard of Wiard, but we`re hoping all you will soon be 'hep' to this impossibly ambitious and catchy affair. Fans of Matthew Sweet, The Lemonheads, The Candy Butchers, classic Elvis Costello and Teenage Fanclub pay attention, please. Wiard has a firm grasp on melody and orchestration but there is song-after-song of sucker punch surprises with felicitous, wholly satisfying hooks laying the foundation."
NotLame.com review of "Painting A Burning Building"

reviews

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  • What can I say, but GREAT! He is my grandson!!!!
    author: Grandma Ruth

    Always good...just wish someone BIG would record one of his songs...he'd "be on his way" then. Unique songs sung from the heart & soul.

  • fantabulous!
    author: Karen

    this cd is wonderful. i can't stop listening to it. you are an amazing musician, brandon, keep up the good work.

  • author: patty

    me like alot. cd gooooood. yay brandon. yay! lets go sing! yay! go team brandon. cold heartless sun is an amazing track. and i suck at reviews.

  • Brandon Wiard has arrived with "Painting a Burning Building"
    author: Tanner Illingworth

    Brandon Wiard has arrived with "Painting a Burning Building." This new album manages to speak to many audiences with pop sensibility and thought provoking lyrics. Anybody who has been or is a fan of artists like Ben Kweller, Ben Folds, or Matthew Sweet will find a new favorite with Brandon Wiard. Quite simply, this is the one cd you should make sure you purchase this year.

  • Awesome summer evening album
    author: Paige Galla

    I really enjoy this CD, it's mellow without being boring, and pretty without being sappy. It's catchy and doesn't bog you down in trying to be over-done and insanely conceptual. I like the mix of the keyboards, guitar and piano, and Brandon's voice is very smooth. Good for driving in the evenings.

  • great disc. lyrically terrific. a nice mix of styles... interesting digression
    author: Josh Estelle

    I really enjoy Brandon Wiard's work, and this new album really expresses his talents. His lyrics are creative and his melodies match them well. I've heard many of the songs on this CD either in earlier recordings or at live shows and I really like what Brandon did in the studio with these songs, the mixes are terrific.

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