From 1978 until his untimely death at the age of 65 in 2004, legendary influential BBC Radio DJ John Peel repeatedly stated that “Teenage Kicks“, the summer of ‘77 debut single by Northern Irish punk band The Undertones was his all-time favourite song.
He readily admitted to being so moved by the song that he burst into tears upon hearing it for the first time, making a point of playing the song twice, something he had never done before, when premiering it on his show September 25th, 1978.
Not stopping there in his praise and adulation for the song, Peel, who once said of the song, “There’s nothing you could add to it or subtract from it that would improve it”, specifically requested that a section of the song’s lyrics be engraved on his tombstone upon his death.
And so it came to be that this immortal phrase from a Rock N Roll song “teenage dreams so hard to beat” was etched into eternity on John Peel’s grave.
And like the great phoenix from the flames the youthful essence of these timeless words has become flesh once again in the embodiment of Chlorine Beach, the solo project of 17-year-old American based musician Jay Brandt.
In the past 5 years, he has released five singles, three EPs, two albums, and uploaded 52 songs onto SoundCloud (most of which are private). He doesn’t include the first album he made because, in his own words, he “hates it”.
Since first picking up the guitar at age 10, Jay quickly turned his focus to honing his skills at the craft of songwriting and learning the recording process. Not limited solely to the audio arts, Jay is also an avid visual artist who developed a passion for making music videos simultaneously along with his growth as a blossoming young musician and songwriter.
An accomplished multi instrumentalist, Jay plays all the instruments on his records with the exception of the drums which he skillfully arranges beforehand and realizes with the assistance of a computer.
His most recent album, the 10 track 30 minute long Monophonic, released just four weeks ago, December 9, 2024, is a continuation of the steady growth and advancement of a burgeoning young edgy rock n roller on a sure fire trajectory for success.
The verdict? Fu*king GREAT Record! We have seen the Past, Present and FUTURE of Rock N Roll and it is Jay Brandt of Chlorine Beach. Hyperbole? You be the judge, we double dog dare ya!
Shrouded in tantalizing secrecy, of his next project, all Jay will say is, “My latest release was Monophobia. It’s an album I made over the course of 22 days, and it was super fun to make. The guitars on it are pretty clean compared to my new release coming very soon. It’s a little heavier on the rock and roll side of things. Inspired more by 90’s rock bands. That’s all I can say, I don’t wanna spoil anything”.
When asked about the future, Jay thoughtfully remarked, “Keep track of where you’re going, but don’t forget who you were before it all began”.
Wise words indeed. Keep your eyes and ears on this talented young man, he’s got places to go and he’s getting there fast.
To be continued…