Brandon Maxwell is a punk rock musician and Twitch content creator out of Orange County, California who incorporates many influences and genres into his sound, including ska, emo, pop punk and post-punk. Brandon was formerly a member of the skacore band Maxwell Smart, in which he played guitar and vocals. In his own words, the point of his own music is to bring light to the darkness [of life], until we can understand it and fear it less.
His track "When I'm Old", released in October of 2022 gives us a taste of his songwriter-punk side, with some undertones of Rancid and the like. I'm happy that I got to meet Brandon in a The Hard Times comment section of all things, and he wanted to share a taste of what you'll be hearing out of the Californian pop rock/punk singer-songwriter. His new single, entitled 'Walk Away', was written by Brandon (who also performed guitar and lead vocals on the track). Rounding out the session is Tristan Garcia from Maxwell Smart on bass, Dan Evans of Bite Me Back on drums, Tara Hahn of Half Past Two on background vocals and Esteban Flores on keys. David Irish at Pot of Gold Studios in Orange County engineered, mixed and mastered the release. David Irish has worked on some notable releases including a handful of We Are The Union releases.
Brandon noted that 'Walk Away' is a slight departure from the style he usually plays, which I love regardless. This most likely means that when a full release comes, it won't be super focused on one sound, rather an experimentation of different genres and subgenres. Walk Away goes for a bit of a mid-2000s post-punk revival and indie rock/power pop sound and excels at it. The organ in the majority of this track paired with the pushing drums and anthemic guitars give it a Death Cab For Cutie or The Weakerthans quality, and Brandon's vocals matched with his harmonies work very well for this type of music.
'Walk Away' is a just a great piece of emotional pop rock music, through and through. Some great harmonies and a hook that will make me want to keep it on repeat for at least the next little bit. Brandon is starting out extremely strong as this is his first non-acoustic song under his solo name, and he will be releasing more songs very soon with both a similiar sound to this, and heavier stuff for the traditional punk fans. To put it bluntly, there will be something for everybody.
Brandon Maxwell's new single 'Walk Away' releases officially March 3rd, 2023, and will be available wherever you listen to music. Remember to support small and/or local artists! Here's a few links to his social media and his streaming pages that you can find his music on.
Brandon Maxwell Soundcloud (if you're interested in hearing his old stuff!)
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