We Speak Music
Brandes ‘The Distance Between Dreams’ – Echoes of the Past, Sounds of Now
It’s not every day a former MP drops one of the most soul-stirring debut albums of the year, but Peter Bradley, now performing under the name Brandes, defies expectations at every turn.
The Distance Between Dreams, is a quiet triumph—lyrically rich, musically sparse where it needs to be, and emotionally weighty without being overwrought. It’s the kind of record that creeps up on you, then lingers.
There’s a deliberate rawness here. On “Please Don’t Call”, Brandes navigates the wreckage of a lost relationship with the weary grace of Leonard Cohen, while “Like A Dagger” pulses with an almost Nick Drake-like fragility. Meanwhile, “From The Higher Ground” injects some electricity, both sonically and ideologically, into the album’s center.
But it’s “Song for Mordecai” that elevates this project to something timeless. Blending oud, sagat, and other Middle Eastern instruments with a lyrical narrative that spans centuries, it’s an ode to the Jewish experience, but also to endurance, solidarity, and self-knowledge.
There’s no filler here—just finely-wrought songs from a man who’s seen life from every angle. Brandes isn’t here to perform; he’s here to reveal.
The New York-based vocal dynamo has officially stepped into the spotlight as a leading contender in America’s Next Top Hitmaker, a nationwide talent search that will crown one extraordinary artist with a performance slot at the 2025 Global Citizen Festival, a coveted feature in Rolling Stone, and a grand prize of $50,000.
You may recognize her fiery voice and magnetic presence from NBC’s The Voice, where she captivated the nation as a finalist on Team Legend. More recently, she’s been making history as one of only two featured vocalists on Zayn Malik’s all-female band, commanding stages across the U.S.
Lisa’s résumé reads like a blueprint for superstardom:
- Shared the stage with legends like Lauryn Hill, John Legend, and Common
- Made waves with her debut album Surrender, named one of Good Morning America’s Top 50 Albums of 2020
- Dropped her latest EP Foretaste in 2024, with lead track “Vagabond” catching fire across streaming platforms
With over 600,000 Spotify streams and a sound that’s impossible to ignore, Ramey is a rare artist who merges soul, grit, and grace with every note.
Image credit: Antonio T Harris
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