Chris Brazeal Band

Right out of the gate, the Odessa, Texas-based Chris Brazeal Band “takes you by surprise” with an incredibly tuneful, snappy and overall appealing roots-pop love song called “More and More.” And you know, you find yourself wanting “more and more” after hearing it a couple of times. It’s a great song to lead off the 11-song Sounds Like Home, recorded in Lubbock.

It’s hard to believe it was three years ago when we first heard the four-piece CBB (Brazeal on vocals and guitar, Zack Neves on guitar and backing vocals, Trevor Buzbee on bass and Lilo Hernandez on drums) and their debut EP, a disc we thoroughly enjoyed. Guitarist T.J. Ballinger has since left and his replacement, Zack Neves, is a talented guy in his own right, either writing or co-writing all of the songs on this solid disc.

Compared to a lot of the Texas/Red Dirt music out right now (and I think the genre is stuck in the doldrums right now), Brazeal and the boys have really worked hard on these songs, many of which have a muscular, Heartland-rock feel replete with country textures – some steel guitar there, organ flourishes there – and themes that reflect a largely rural point of view.

Neves’ guitar playing and Hernandez’s drumming skills really compliment each other, as is evident, for instance, during a break on the mid-tempo and melancholic “Middle American Blues.” To this ear, this is a band that isn’t a “paint-by-number” Texas/Red Dirt act looking to cash in as the next “So-and-So Band” in the weatherbeaten jeans and untucked pearl-snap shirt.

Having spoken with Brazeal, he is a genuinely nice guy and has the distinction of developing his sound and style in a fairly remote area of the country – Midland/Odessa – even by Texas standards.

Like a cross between Kevin Fowler and Roger Creager, Brazeal embraces the twangy, Western swing-inspired “Am I Drunk?” This is one of my favorites on this new disc. Great for parties and outdoor barbecues, y’all.

Speaking of barbecues, “Southern Summer Nights” is a fine slice of bucolic bliss, albeit expressed with a couple of clunky lines.

There really isn’t a bad song in the bunch. I think the best songs tend to be the ones that Brazeal and Neves have co-written. And as a solid unit, the Chris Brazeal Band sounds tight, rehearsed and ready to rock with a country flair. Texas/Red Dirt fans will be very impressed with Sounds Like Home – definitely one to add to their collection.

For more information go to www.chrisbrazealband.com. - Red Dirt Report

Every time I spin the first song on the Chris Brazeal Band’s debut EP, a descriptive song called “Only In Texas,” I get mental images of wide-open skies, the browns and yellows and greens of the West Texas countryside … a very appealing image to anyone who has spent time in the Permian Basin, where the band hails from.

Based in Odessa, specifically, the Chris Brazeal Band has been getting more attention as a result of the Southern rock party tune “Beer Pong Saturday Night.” Brazeal sounds positively excited as he sings each lyric. This song is getting some positive attention on the Texas Country music scene with RadioFreeTexas.org paying particular interest in the track.

Brazeal, who leads this quartet, which also features bassist Trevor Buzbee, guitarist T.J. Ballinger and drummer Lilo Hernandez, has a plaintive voice that at times brings to mind Kevin Griffin of the New Orleans alt-rock group Better Than Ezra.

An acoustic guitar (courtesy of Brazeal) is strummed until his vocal comes in, sounding contented and thoughtful, all as the electric guitar pulls you in and then the drums begin. “Only In Texas,” with its lyrics: “Only in Texas, the sky’s so big and blue / Only in Texas do strangers smile and wave at you / Only in Texas can I drink out in a field with my friends / Only in Texas is a Chevy just as a cool as a Benz.”

Well, we here in Oklahoma enjoy many of those same things. But hey, Texans tend to be very Texas-centric.

“Austin,” the city where this EP was recorded and which Brazeal co-produced with Eric McKinney (Mark McKinney), is a mid-tempo country-rocker that will appeal to fans of Josh Abbott Band or Rich O’Toole, he of "Marijuana and Jalapenos" fame who also gets a shout-out in this song.

Some pedal steel, courtesy of Eric McKinney, peppers “Closing Time,” a “drownin’ my memories” type of song that Brazeal sings as if his life depended on it. He strains a little bit at times here but overall it works.

On “Two Steppin’, Brazeal’s vocals are a bit strong for a song that probably deserves a more subtle vocal delivery.

Losing a girlfriend is the subject of the roots-rockin’ “On My Own.”

I am really glad Brazeal contacted Red Dirt Report about his debut EP. He’s a great talent to come out of the West Texas country-rock scene and we are looking forward to the release of the CBB’s full-length album, whenever that may be.
- Red Dirt Report

Every time I spin the first song on the Chris Brazeal Band’s debut EP, a descriptive song called “Only In Texas,” I get mental images of wide-open skies, the browns and yellows and greens of the West Texas countryside … a very appealing image to anyone who has spent time in the Permian Basin, where the band hails from.

Based in Odessa, specifically, the Chris Brazeal Band has been getting more attention as a result of the Southern rock party tune “Beer Pong Saturday Night.” Brazeal sounds positively excited as he sings each lyric. This song is getting some positive attention on the Texas Country music scene with RadioFreeTexas.org paying particular interest in the track.

Brazeal, who leads this quartet, which also features bassist Trevor Buzbee, guitarist T.J. Ballinger and drummer Lilo Hernandez, has a plaintive voice that at times brings to mind Kevin Griffin of the New Orleans alt-rock group Better Than Ezra.

An acoustic guitar (courtesy of Brazeal) is strummed until his vocal comes in, sounding contented and thoughtful, all as the electric guitar pulls you in and then the drums begin. “Only In Texas,” with its lyrics: “Only in Texas, the sky’s so big and blue / Only in Texas do strangers smile and wave at you / Only in Texas can I drink out in a field with my friends / Only in Texas is a Chevy just as a cool as a Benz.”

Well, we here in Oklahoma enjoy many of those same things. But hey, Texans tend to be very Texas-centric.

“Austin,” the city where this EP was recorded and which Brazeal co-produced with Eric McKinney (Mark McKinney), is a mid-tempo country-rocker that will appeal to fans of Josh Abbott Band or Rich O’Toole, he of "Marijuana and Jalapenos" fame who also gets a shout-out in this song.

Some pedal steel, courtesy of Eric McKinney, peppers “Closing Time,” a “drownin’ my memories” type of song that Brazeal sings as if his life depended on it. He strains a little bit at times here but overall it works.

On “Two Steppin’, Brazeal’s vocals are a bit strong for a song that probably deserves a more subtle vocal delivery.

Losing a girlfriend is the subject of the roots-rockin’ “On My Own.”

I am really glad Brazeal contacted Red Dirt Report about his debut EP. He’s a great talent to come out of the West Texas country-rock scene and we are looking forward to the release of the CBB’s full-length album, whenever that may be.
- Red Dirt Report