CD REVIEW: Bridey Murphy by singer/songwriter Jay Tonne

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One can’t be entirely sure whether or not relocating back to Colorado from the cutthroat scene in Austin, Texas is what made indie singer/songwriter Jay Tonne’s music so much more provocative and muscular than it had been, but no matter what the case may be, he’s rocking out like he never has before in the new record Bridey Murphy, which was released this month to quite the warm reception from critics in the underground. Tonne divvies out some of the biggest riffs in alternative music in Bridey Murphy’s four songs, all of which tease a new beginning for an already well-respected artist and composer.

URL: http://brideymurphy.com/

While this is only an extended play, the music here is notably conceptual, and arguably feels more like the cornerstone of a much larger album than it does fodder for a sample recording. “Jesus, Julie Christie!,” “Perfect Dream” and “Catalina” could all be singles, while the concluding track on Bridey Murphy, “The Great Game,” sounds as though it’s merely introducing a teaser for what will inevitably become the basis for an incredibly progressive effort in the future. Attention-getting is one way to describe this content, but I don’t get the impression it was conceived for the purposes of getting airplay exclusively.

“The Great Game” could have used just a touch more bass than it was afforded on this occasion, but I suppose I can understand what Tonne was going for in limiting the bottom-end in this song. Based on where it’s located in the tracklist, I think he wanted to use the harmonies in this last tune as a means of cooling down the listener in the wake of the chaotic environment that precedes it in “Perfect Dream” and “Catalina,” both of which could shatter picture windows if played at too high a volume, further resulting in an aesthetical balance that wouldn’t exist here otherwise.

“Jesus, Julie Christie!” boasts some fantastic guitar tones that I haven’t been able to shake since first picking up a copy of Bridey Murphy over the weekend, and I found these tones to actually be as expressive as any of the lyrics in the song are. Tonne isn’t satisfied with simply communicating through his poetry on this record; rather than taking the tried route, he wants to utilize all of the weapons set before him in an effort to win over fans both new and old alike.

KKBOX: https://www.kkbox.com/sg/en/album/Jh-3g4onxwBL70F4F3Yq009H-index.html

Alternative enthusiasts cannot afford to miss out on what Tonne is toying with in Bridey Murphy, and even if you’re not crazy about guitar-driven music, it’s a record that I would still tell you to check out right now. Bridey Murphy demands a reaction out of just about everyone who gives it an inspection, and although it probably won’t resemble the full-capacity sound this artist will produce for us in a proper LP, it gives us plenty of clues as to how excited we should be about his future output. It’s a great time in history to be following indie rock, and players like this one are the biggest reason why.

by Bethany Page