Stream: Brightener, ‘Filters II’

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Brightener at Coachella 2016 (Photo by Chad Wadsworth, courtesy of Goldenvoice)
Brightener at Coachella 2016 (Photo by Chad Wadsworth, courtesy of Goldenvoice)

It took Palm Desert’s Will Sturgeon six years to make the first Brightener album, 2015’s “Hummingbird” — “a professional-sounding record that ultimately I was really burnt out on and didn’t love the way that it felt,” he says now. Some nice things have happened since it came out, though, such as Brightener’s being a last-minute add to the Coachella 2016 lineup, and the well-deserved rise in Brightener’s profile that followed. Now Sturgeon is plotting an April 7 release for Brightener’s sophomore effort, “Headroom,” a fan-funded effort that in comparison is very DIY. “I started recording in my bedroom again. Added some new pedals to my pedal board and played more electric guitar on the floor. Bought a Juno-60 synthesizer. Recorded vocals in a closet, recorded drums at a friend’s house,” he notes. “Now, without stepping foot in a studio, I’ve got a record that’s personal, relevant and feels good.”

“Headroom” will include the buoyant 2016 single “When the Lights Come Up,” as well as the just-released “Filters II,” a wistful breakup song that takes on greater context when you realize that 1) there was a song “Filters” on “Hummingbird,” 2) it was his significant other’s favorite song, 3) and said person failed to grasp its real meaning. Either way, “Headroom” promises to be one of those bedroom-pop gems we should never take for granted. the album is due April 7.

||| Stream: “Filters II”

||| Live: Brightener headlines the Hi Hat on April 5, joined by the Nova Darlings, Sure Sure and Huxlee. Tickets.

||| Previously: Live at the Chinatown Moon Festival, “When the Lights Come Up”