By DOTTIE PARIS – Where is the line between avant garde and experimental shoegaze? Bryan Deister proves that he can push those  boundaries and give listeners the luxury of not having to make those decisions.

If Sonic Youth married Radiohead and made music, the result would be somewhat similar to Bryan’s latest 22-track fantasy, Spines of the Heart.  Throughout the journey, Bryan takes listeners from outlying abstract to hymnal chantings and almost everything in between.

Bryan is fortunate to be a scholarship student still at Berklee College of Music, from which many noted artists have emerged and if one thing can be said about formal music training, at the very least, music becomes a skill and work of love for life.  On Spines of the Heart, Bryan wrote and performs all the songs.  As an “ultimate hyphenate,” he is truly a multi-tasker.

With lilting melodies that carry the words of melted relationships, Bryan tells the stories that we all endure but puts a spin on his melodies that make us feel the heartache. While now in Boston at school, Bryan is from Redondo Beach, probably best known for its fishing pier.  It’s remarkable he broke out.

It’s not dance music, of course, but instead it captures the essence of music styles and the study of sounds.

Bryan’s superb voice, which ranges from an esthetic yodel to low toned sailings brings us to many different planes.  Some songs carry the listener off to another dreamlike land, others have us drifting along like a light breeze off a mountain.

There are dips and highs that go along with this type of sound. The melodies are there but are disguised behind the thoughts and movements, much more symphonic than pop recordings.

Standouts of the collection are “Brighter Dawn,” “Emily” and “Vacant Eyes,” which track us back to haunting, yet welcome sounds of the familiar and simultaneously, the unknown.

Bryan brings a new and refreshing take on the shoegaze style.  He adds jazz and bluesy pop to augment the avant garde style and it’s a pleasure.  Check out the Bryan Deister Website.

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