Reino Brink sets himself head and shoulders above the rest with a vivacious debut album, Break and Bend. Freshly dropped and pulsing with both modern and retro pop proclivities, Brink finds his feet with an impressive repertoire of polished, passionate tracks which navigate the unpredictability of life.
Through a vibrant indie-pop lens, Brink gets real on everything from adolescent preambles (“Trynna Fit In”), mental health through the eyes of the older generation (“Not Alone”), and love through the lens of his 17-year old self (“Coffee”). All this stacked up against slick indie-pop production bred for radio play and festival line-ups alike.
Jangling, rollicking throwback textures kick things off in “Trynna Fit In” which is equal parts a homage of teenage confusion and a letter of apology to his parents who dealt with it all. “Nightlife” favours a pillowy pop backbone – which smacks of Harry Styles’ latest – replete in funky rhythm as he waxes realistic on the dark side of the jol.
“Small Talk” – which dropped last year – gets a remaster for this album and turns out extra refined, while “Stuck In The Middle” gets real about reinventing yourself and holding true to that, packed with colour and sonic contrast. There’s even a middle finger raised to all those who wronged him over the years, set against the snappy rock penchant of “Blood Diamond”.
It’s an impressive debut – packed with the sort of consideration, confidence, and expertly navigated genre variation which works its way into your limbs and just begs for more.
Feature pic supplied by artist
