Just a handful of songs into their set at NYC’s Town Hall this past November, Chelsea Cutler, at the piano, stole what appeared to be frequent apprehensive glances at Jeremy Zucker, across the stage with guitar in hand and his eyes locked down at the floor, absorbed in focus. When addressed during an interview a week later, hours before taking the stage at Brooklyn, NY’s Brooklyn Paramount, Cutler declared anything but apprehension.
“I like watching you sing,” she says, directing her answer to Zucker with an earnest sweetness. “It brings me joy. I’m just having fun.” Zucker, uniformly complimentary in return, admitted to similar actions. Zucker, the bedroom pop prince best known for his distinguished love is not dying record, and Cutler, equally sovereign, coming off her most prolific album and touring cycle yet with 2023’s Stellaria, are warm, impenetrably humble, and gracious, though they do not acknowledge their impact.
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Fellow artists and peers are more than willing to sing their praises. Braden Bales, the pop/hip-hop hybrid behind the hit “CHRONICALLY CAUTIOUS,” lauded Zucker for his contributions. Through a representative, he corresponded via email: “Jeremy was a huge influence to my generation of artists because he was one of the first big singer-songwriters to produce everything out of their bedroom. I studied how he would develop his songs into full productions that ebbed and flowed with the energy of the songs he wrote… and I learned a lot of the skills I have now listening to the production lyrics, and vocal delivery on his album love is not dying.”
Henry Moodie, the rising star taking international markets by storm with YA-driven pop hits “drunk text” and “you were there for me,” provided a similar standpoint, also via email through a representative, on his reverence for Cutler, particularly following a round of writing sessions with her this past spring: “I’ve been a massive fan of Chelsea since brent! her storytelling feels so effortless and always perfectly describes a specific emotion. when i found out she was down to write with me i was over-the-moon! she was so open to taking risks & radiates creativity! i’m so excited to listen to everything she has to come!!”
Following the success of the first brent project, the pair allowed a sense of personal competition to overwhelm them through the development of brent ii. brent iii, the first full length album of the series, was written in nature-oriented seclusion and was, ultimately, a more fluid, purified process.
“I think we were both in a more forgiving phase, personally,” says Zucker. “Between the two of us, we stressed about not taking it too seriously and having fun. When we try too hard, not only do we have a horrible time, but we also don’t make any music. We figured that, inherently, it would be better, or at least more evolved, just because we’re older and, hopefully, have a more mature perspective on our songwriting and music making process,” Cutler added. “We didn’t feel too much pressure.”
Cutler and Zucker’s ability to blend with, and often match, the other in emotional intensity, pitch, and resonance, is exceptionally apparent on this record. As is their capacity to allow for the other’s fragmented space within the songs, as brent iii is littered with elements of the tiny crevices of serviceable, tangible naked emotion from which they write. Tracks such as “I miss you,” “good things,” “ashes & rust,” and Cutler’s solo “love you into loving me” flourish with virtually unblemished vocals and organic usage of live instruments and mixing methods. “brent ii is a little bit more refined, sonically,” says Zucker. “Because of that, it gets a bit more emotionally narrow. brent iii is a little more raw and focused on the energy and the songwriting as opposed to sonic perfection.”
“black & white,” and its accompanying visual, functioned as the bucolic, feathery first glimpse into the project. Measurable notions of reflection and finality are present within the liner notes of these components, though when a candid, perhaps non-media trained-like, response regarding the future, or lack thereof, of the collaboration, was requested, the pair responded accordingly.
“I’ve never been media trained once in my life,” says Cutler, looking over to Zucker with a slight hint of curiosity.
“They didn’t make you do media training when you signed?,” he countered.
“I did it ONE TIME!!”
“It’s SO silly. It’s not real.”
“We both feel really good about it as a trilogy, for now,” says Cutler, restoring order. “We can say whatever we want now, but we have no idea how we’re going to feel in five, ten, even twenty years if we want to go do a little theatre tour again. Now that the music is out there, there are infinite possibilities.”
Amid the string of ruminating tranquility of the record are “five minutes” and “and the government too!,” both packing an unyielding punch. On these tracks, Cutler is tasked with falling back and reinforcing Zucker’s outward exhibitions of his internal strife. The full breadth of Zucker’s vocal ability, best outlined on his tour de force love is not dying track “full stop” though otherwise seldom showcased, is on display here, as he impressively floats up the octave across much of the hooks.
“Naturally, my voice isn’t loud,” says Zucker. “The only way to make it have that effect is to have a lot of dynamics. I started making music alone in my room… naturally being quiet on the microphone, and that was letting me sing similar to the way that I speak. When I felt comfortable to really belt… you feel the dynamic range there.”
The sentiment of “and the government too!” liberally ties into “black & white,” which includes the line, “Honey, I’m home, your American boy.” At first glance, the line could be seen as a nod to Zucker’s brand image, but is ultimately more nuanced.
“The song is about the struggles of being in a long-distance relationship with someone who isn’t a citizen,” he says, speaking of his now wife of German descent. “Feeling how the government is really hostile towards immigrants, and that being tied up in my love life. It was like a ‘fuck the system’ kind of feeling, but in a more desperate, longing way.”
Cutler, consciously and cautiously aware of her role in this moment, solely provides background support on this tune. “That was such a privilege to get to be a part of,” she says. “That song speaks to the writing process of just getting to write with your friend and being able to be there when there is something they need to get off their chest. It’s great to help facilitate their processing of an emotion.”
This awareness is fulfilled by both parties and is a critical aspect of the creative process. “There are times, in any friendship, where some days one friend has things they need to bring to the table,” says Cutler. “Other days, it’s a shared experience that you want to talk about.”
“It’s not always a perfect collaboration,” Zucker adds. “Sometimes, one of us has to support the other… and contribute in ways that make sense. Neither one of us is going to force our way onto a record.”
Fundamentally, brent is a collaboration born out of mutual admiration. Onstage, as Cutler eyed Zucker with clear affection for his musicality, and as Zucker, in return, beamed up as she leapt onto a platform to join her fellow musicians during the musical rush of brent iii standout “just breathe,” it seems the job has been done, and solidifies that these artists have acquired properties more critical than plain musical visibility.
“Sometimes, my brain is moving too fast to stop and feel,” says Zucker. “I think I wanted to absorb some of her ease and spontaneity.”
“I’m more fueled by emotional reasoning, while Jerm is really deliberate, and committed to, his integrity and his artistic vision,” says Cutler. “I always try to learn from that.”