Brian Crosby - Imbrium: A refuge from white noise

Brian Crosby was a member of the Bell X1 gang since their very early days, back when they were still known as Juniper and their singer was called Damian Rice. Crosby left the fold in 2008 and moved to that capital of reinvention and hub of creative industries that is Berlin, where he crossed paths with musicians such as Dustin O'Halloran, Hildur Guõnadóttir, Rutger Hoedemaekers and the late Jóhann Jóhannsson.

After working on numerous soundtracks and television scores, Crosby now releases a solo album, following an original soundtrack record for In Our Own Words in 2019. After forging his new musical identity and vision in Berlin, he brought it all back home in 2017, when he returned to Ireland with his family and constructed a facility called Treehouse Studios, where this album’s nine minimally pleasing piano tracks were committed to tape.

Crosby noted in a recent interview that today’s disorientating world is full of white noise. Add social media and our collective concerns over Covid to the cacophony, and you’ve got a toxic and corrosive mix. Imbrium is intended as a balm for our times, a quiet, reflective, and mediative safe space to take refuge from the the commotion. Tracks such as Puzzled Love of the Light and The Front Bench are gorgeous gems to enthral and delight.

Taking the big leap to fly solo certainly didn't do Crosby's erstwhile bandmates Paul Noonan and Damian Rice any harm. Imbrium is a soothing and riveting new chapter.