The Belmont Estate – Songbook Of The Belmont Estate

If you take a deep dive into the contemporary indie music scene, you’ll stumble upon so many good artists and bands giving their best to deliver perfect songs. But, as is usually the case, not so many of them succeed in doing it. While their music often carries many qualities, they fail in crafting emotionally resonant tunes where the listener fully enjoys everything those music outlets intended to achieve. Somehow, you just realize there’s something missing in order to fully grasp their works. But, once in a while, we all stumble upon a band that understands that for a great song or an album, you need to pour heart and soul into songwriting, composing, arranging, producing, and performance. The Belmont Estate is certainly one of those pure examples of how the entire collective of musicians work like a cohesive whole, like an unstoppable machine with the sole aim to deliver emotionally and sonically resonant music that immediately penetrates your listening apparatus and refuses to let go long after the last notes and beats fade away. With “Songbook of The Belmont Estate,” their highly anticipated debut full-length album released via streaming platforms on June 4th, they showcase how indie music can still sound innovative and exciting without straying too much from the fundamentals of a genre or experimenting too much with additional styles. And with the mixing contributions from Steve Sedgwick (known for his work with Gorillaz), Ali Chant (Yard Act), and Callum Barter (Courtney Barnett), you know you’re in it for a treat.

Lyrically, “Songbook of the Belmont Estate” speaks about growing up in the area, documenting the lives lived in spaces most people recognize, but few celebrate. The band explores various sentiments, moods, situations, and circumstances in order to depict life in The Belmont Estate, making this material highly relatable not only for its residents but for anyone growing up in a similar community, mainly because these songs explore all those tiny or big things that make us human. Sonically, perhaps “Songbook of the Belmont Estate” shines with everything indie music represents, as the band cleverly, wisely, and tastefully incorporated all the fundamental elements of the genre into it, but do not be surprised if you stumble upon some of the finest properties borrowed from folk, folk rock, acoustic rock, and other similar subgenres. The Belmont Estate uses all these additional sonic ingredients as more than necessary enhancements, accentuations, decorations, and other details to further uplift this material to an entirely new level while simultaneously remaining loyal to the primary sonic direction. And while “Songbook of the Belmont Estate” shines with all the qualities that meet trends in contemporary music production, you’ll hear how these songs carry a subtle touch of nostalgia, making this album appealing to not only those loyal to indie music but also anyone who appreciates cleverly assembled, flawlessly performed, and perfectly produced music.

As soon as you press play, you’ll immediately notice one thing. Chloe Stallone, Richard Brown, Tyler Ware, Betsy Sweeney, and Berry Brown are an exceptional collective of musicians whose boundless creativity and outstanding orchestrations collide harmoneously throughout the entire material. Each composition arrives with a perfect structure, decorated with many clever arrangements, profoundly detailed segments, brilliant ideas, and marvelous musicianship. Every vocal, sonic, and rhyhtmic maneuver has its place and purpose here, making “Songbook of the Belmont Estate” one of those albums worth spinning every time you crave captivating indie music. The vocal performances, harmonies, and arrangements are absolutely stunning. Each composition carries so many beautiful moments where soulful, passionate, sincere, confident, and powerful vocal performances serve as a centerpiece, command attention, elevate everything to new heights, and guide listeners on an epic journey through the expansive sonic universe. The impressive vocal range seamlessly balances low, mid, and high notes with such precision and finesse, emphasizing everything the remainder of the band intended to achieve with this album. Besides decorating all those segments and orchestrations, these vocals also contribute more than necessary emotional depth and complexity over an already intricate structures. You’ll also hear how the additional vocal layers, back vocals, and sing-alongs create a more anthemic vibe during the particular segments while offering detail and depth.

In the meantime, the interplay between synths and guitars plays a significant role in shaping the perfect backdrop for all the vocals to shine upon while remaining a primary source of melody and harmony. You’ll hear all those lush synth leads, themes, melodies, harmonies, pads, and other sonic maneuvers shining on one side while the other resonates with catchy, memorable, engaging riffs and chord progressions delivered on both acoustic and electric guitars. It’s nearly mindblowing how all those layers articulate throughout the entire material without overwhelming each other, proving that The Belmont Estate thought about everything while writing, composing, arranging, and producing this material. This album wouldn’t sound complete without the equally impressive rhythm section. Beneath all those lush synth and guitar works, you’ll notice intricate, vividly hearable, warm-sounding basslines rumbling around and contributing heaviness, clarity, and depth while simultaneously acting as a binding element between the mentioned instrumentations and rhyhtmic patterns. These low ends offer groove, detail, and warmth without overwhelming the remainder of the instrumentation. The exceptional drumming performance, based upon well-accentuated, flawlessly performed, tastefully assembled beats, breaks, fills, and percussion, keeps everything in line while dictating groove and pace. Sometimes as a steady and heavy rhythmic pattern and sometimes as a gentle, yet vividly hearable percussion, the drumming is the backbone of this material, giving it more than necessary detail and dynamics. Each instrument has its place and purpose here, making this album such a memorable listening experience worth revisiting.

Songs like “Folly,” “Boat,” “Cindy,” “Butterflys,” “atLonelyGirldotcom,” “Make Up,” “Let Me In,” and “Chops” are definite standouts, but you should listen to the remainder of the material with full attention, because it carries so many beautiful and captivating moments. “Songbook of The Belmont Estate” is an indie masterpiece crafted by a collective of exceptional musicians. Their dedication to the craft, songwriting, composing, arranging, producing, ideas, and performance stands out from anything their contemporaries have released in recent years. If you love your indie music as soulful, emotive, complex, and captivating as possible, then you should immediately place “Songbook of The Belmont Estate” on your music radar. It is a top contender for an indie album of the year. Do not miss it!