A Brilliant Album from Zack Browning
- R.A.G.
- 6 hours ago
- 3 min read
The new album release from Zack Browning brings out a slew of cinematic-backed pizzicato violin soundscapes and atmospheres that are composed of both orchestrated strings, piano work, different kinds of keys, horns, and everything else under the Sun. This is an album that delivers various sets of moods with each new track, and in doing so swallows you up into this beautiful, universal, and spacious world filled with gorgeous tones and textures.
The Rock Galaxy album blends classical with jazz in a seamless fashion so that you have robust worlds to step in and out of.
The record starts off with a song called "Sol Prophecy", which does indeed blend those two worlds but also gives you this pop undertone and even rock edge at times, especially with the massive percussion going on throughout the track.
The percussion is really a huge element of the driving force behind this one, and it makes it so unique.
This is followed by "Cosmic Changes", which features flute, harp, and more instruments, giving a completely different atmosphere but also can be semi-hunting at different parts of the composition.
This is the track that you really realize you're in for something different. There are no two songs that are really alike across this record, but there's still a strange consistency that holds the songs together like glue.
This is the kind of record that is influenced by all kinds of different genres but still keeps to this beautifully natural set of instruments along with some keys that add a different kind of texture and atmosphere to certain sections of the pieces.
It branches off in different directions on a consistent basis and really feels amazing when you listen to it from beginning to end.
This is indeed a record I suggest going through from start to finish, simply because then you are engulfed in Zack's robust and fluent World.
These are songs that are created with no bounds holding them down.
The title track, "Rock Galaxy", is absolutely Monumental and features orchestrated strings that take you through both piccato and feels. This is bursting at the seams with gorgeous melodies that sort of whisk you up and take you to different places. The moods are ever-changing throughout the course of this one, and I really found that it felt like the whole song was just alive.
One of my favorite tracks on this one is actually the last track called "Moon Venus", which is once again very percussion-oriented. The time signatures and rhythms are unique and sort of change up throughout its course, and there is this sort of heavy feel behind them because of how those drums are performed.
This is a track with a lot of gusto behind it, but it still has beautiful instrumentation, those heavy-hitting drums. There are bells and more mallet-based instruments that are sort of flowing through this song, and a lot of it is sort of hyperactive.
This was a bit of a full-throttle track, and I find that it was an excellent way to close the record.
It's been quite some time since I've heard such a lush sort of record that still holds on to a spaciousness and its underbelly, and is performed with a beautiful approach.
Zack Browning has been known as both a trumpeter and performing arts and a pianist in pop music. During the 1980s, he began experimenting and bringing the two worlds together, and from then on, he's developed a sound that he has fallen in love with.
This album is an amazing example of how he's able to pull different influences because of his vast experience and create worlds with them for you
This record will certainly take you for a ride, and again, I don't really suggest skipping around on this. Go for the full record so you can get the whole experience in one shot, and it's a beautiful one at that.
Definitely take a deep dive into this one so you can see exactly what I'm talking about in terms of blending instrumentation, styles, arrangement, and composition, and bringing together these different approaches to build something that feels immersive.