American singer-songwriters Jeremy Zucker and Chelsea Cutler have once again collaborated to produce the final part of the Brent trilogy. Brent iii was released on 1st November and is a collection of heart-breaking songs that will make you well-up while listening to the beautiful guitar score playing behind Zucker and Cutler’s soothing voices. I advise you to buy some tissues and ice cream as comfort before listening to the tear-jerking songs. 

Zucker and Cutler released their first EP Brent in 2019, with the first song being ‘you were good to me.’ The gentle introduction of the piano sonically captures the essence of heartbreak. The song encapsulates the pain of missing someone who provided love and care through lyrics comparing once feeling happy with that person and the sadness of dealing with losing them. Brent is a heartrending EP entrenched with sadness. 

Brent ii was released two years later, starting with the song ‘this is how you fall in love.’ This song is once again soft and gentle, with soothing vocals sung amongst a calming acoustic guitar. It is one of my personal favourites. There is a sense of hope that juxtaposes the melancholic lyrics in ‘you were good to me’ from Brent. It reflects the easiness and the beautiful feeling of falling in love with someone and discovering their qualities. The songs that follow in this EP reflect on family and, while displaying the love of a partner, also showing gratitude for family who have seen you grow, and the joy of being able to display the same love to others. 

The trilogy tells a story of progression and a journey into acceptance and finding love again. Brent iii still portrays the calmness of the other records but is noticeably longer, which was incredibly exciting to find out. I love and relate to Brent and Brent ii and so finding out that an album would be added to the trilogy had me twiddling my thumbs and anxiously waiting for the release date. 

Brent iii is comforting. It feels like we have been on an emotional journey with Zucker and Cutler, experiencing heartbreak and falling in love. Now there is a sense of security within this album, even though the melodies and backing tracks do not differ too much from the others. There was somewhat an expectation of how the album was going to sound, which I found to be comforting, but the amelioration of the lyrics created a whole new meaning. 

Relationships and love are important themes entrenched in these songs but, in comparison to Brent and Brent ii, Zucker and Cutler sing mostly about the hard work it takes to maintain a relationship and the ways to make it work. This is seen in the song ‘black and white’, the first single to be released before the album came out. The lyrics paint a dull, colourless picture, with quiet instruments and vocals starting the song. Progressively, as there is a build-up of instruments, the song becomes more passionate and emotional. The lyrics underpin this excited, colourful feeling of being in-love. It is the kind of song that would play during a romantic montage in a film, which sparks the jealousy of wanting movie-love. 

A sense of release of all the heart-ache and sadness comes out in the song ‘just breathe.’ It is a song about self-reflection and knowing that everything will be fine. Being the penultimate song on the album suggests an essence of nostalgia and looking back over the last two EPs and the feeling of releasing a deep breath knowing everything worked out. Cutler’s monologue in the song may also show a continuation of uncertain feelings and how the anxious and sad emotions may continue. However, Zucker comes in with the chorus which creates a sense of relaxation and reminds listeners that it is okay to just take a breath and absorb your feelings and surroundings, saying that everything will be fine in the end. 

This is laced together with the album’s final song, ‘good things.’ This song also covers the themes of reminiscing over old times and changing as you grow up. ‘good things’ is a song of nostalgia and moving forward, symbolising many aspects of Culter and Zucker’s life. The duo look back at old relationships, past life experiences and, from my perspective, I feel them once again looking back on the last two EPs and this album they created together. This is met with audio in the background of Chelsea’s parents talking to her as a child. As a listener this hit me emotionally as it portrays the fragility of childhood memories and how time moves so fast. I find it to be a sonically beautiful song. 

Overall, this finale to the Brent  trilogy was the cherry on top of a very melancholy, blue cake. These projects will become notorious heart-break records to release all your tears and have a good cry to. My hope is this album will send you on an emotional rollercoaster which may consist of sadness and pitifulness, but at the end, you’ll find comfort in this heartwarming, peaceful album. 

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