Brett Gleason's piano pounding affirmation "Second Guess"

photo by Eva Mueller

Brett Gleason's sonic affirmation laden Second Guess pushes a sideways twist on Peter Gunn rails (Henry Mancini) and twists some more. Gleason keeps it spartan, his vocal with the appropriate amount of (nearly reticent) anger dribbles and then spews out in words we should all take to heart. I love the big piano down beats and the striking singular key (and bell?) strike. As the song pounces forward you can feel the anger and self affirmation grow and glow hotter, ‘Why do you trust everyone, but yourself?’ 

Maybe the anger and big self reflection coming out in a powerful keyboard pounding way makes sense as Gleason sat on the song progression for a long time. 

‘I started writing ‘Second Guess’ ten years ago to cheer myself up after a bad night but after an upbeat chorus the song didn’t go anywhere because I wasn’t ready to do the hard work of understanding why I look outside myself for approval instead of within - only recently was I read to return with the perspective you hear in the darker, more analytical verses’

If you are in self-doubt and listen to too many others and maybe too many naysayers you might want to listen to this empowering song. Maybe listen hard while brushing your teeth every morning.
-
Robb Donker





THE FACTS AS WE KNOW THEM - PRESS NOTES:

Brett Gleason is a piano-based alternative songwriter from Brooklyn who effortlessly fuses the intimacy of a singer-songwriter with the epic sounds of arena rock. 

His latest single ‘Second Guess’ is a fiercely dynamic and driving track that faces the listeners in front of their harshest critic: themselves. 

Playing out the drama of intuition versus self-doubt, the result is a track both buoyant and bruising with Gleason simultaneously encouraging the listener to embrace their instincts while calling them out for the self-effacing ways he knows too well.

‘Why do you trust everyone, but yourself?’ 

he asks in the first verse, a decade later: 

‘I started writing ‘Second Guess’ ten years ago to cheer myself up after a bad night’ Brett explains, ‘but after an upbeat chorus the song didn’t go anywhere because I wasn’t ready to do the hard work of understanding why I look outside myself for approval instead of within - only recently was I read to return with the perspective you hear in the darker, more analytical verses’ 

An outspoken bipolar advocate and out artist, Gleason knows what it’s like to live an intense life outside the mainstream & this unique perspective bleeds directly into his music, serving as a conduit for his experiences. 

Brett’s career has been taking off the past few years with his first two albums debuting in the Top 100 of the Alternative Charts and videos reaching the number-one spot on MTV Logo’s “The Click List.” 

‘Second Guess’ is the 2nd single in his latest cycle and is connected to the previously released ‘The Strong & the Silent’ on digital outlets, leading up to his third album which as a self-produced, indie artist funded entirely by his fan base via Patreon, Brett Gleason is taking his time to make right while connecting directly with the listeners he is creating it for.