Album of the Week: Brian – Understood (Understand: Expanded Reissue)
Album of the Week: Brian – Understood (Understand: Expanded Reissue)
Once upon a time… before almost all recorded music sat at our fingertips, I went down a rabbit hole collecting early indie from the mid-to-late ’80s. Some of it came via bands featured of the NME C-86 cassette, some from Creation Records’ early roster, and some from Bristol’s obscure label Sarah Records. Much of this scene was indebted to both the DIY attitude of punk, the commercial pop success of The Smiths, R.E.M., and The Cure, as well as the singular visions of cult heroes like Felt. But it was made on tiny budgets, driven by heart and soul. One track that has stayed with me ever since is The Field Mice’s Emma’s House (1988), an introverted, small, utterly perfect pop song, with the uncanny ability to draw the listener into its own secret microcosm.
The feeling and emotional rush of listening to The Field Mice resurfaced with the reissue of Brian’s Understand. The 1992 album, by Irish singer-songwriter Ken Sweeney, released on London Irish label Setanta Records, was entirely new to me. While clicking play in 2025 doesn’t quite replicate the thrill of tracking down scarce vinyl or cassettes, the moment those chiming, summery guitars and softly sung melodies of opening track Understand began, it felt like finding The Field Mice all over again.
Now retitled Understood, the reissue (via Needle Mythology, responsible for the excellent indie-pop compilation Sensitive released earlier this year) expands the original eight-track release with bonus material (not appearing thus far on digital services), offering the chance to rediscover an overlooked gem 33 years on.
Back in ’92, Understand was likely lost in both a crowded sea of melodic guitar bands in the wake of The Smiths, The Stone Roses, The La’s, and The Cure, the global dominance of grunge, the emergence of burgeoning electronic dance music scenes, not to mention the hurdles plenty of Irish artists faced in reaching wider audiences. Listening today, though, its carefully constructed songs feel timeless.
The title track opens with shimmering guitars, soaring synths, and a post-baggy rhythm, radiating pure magic. The record embraces a limited sonic palette but achieves a distinct, gentle, otherworldly sound. While echoes of The Cure, The Cocteau Twins, can be heard, Brian avoids drifting into gothic esoterica, as lyrically the songs are grounded in reality, balancing relatable themes of joy and melancholy.
Highlights are frequent as the album progresses, Big Green Eyes is effervescent finger-picked pop, A Million Miles drifts like a piece by Factory Records outliers The Durutti Column, Don’t Leave Me Behind pairs raging guitars with ethereal synths with stunning effect. Elsewhere, the more musically muscular You Can’t Call Home leans towards a shoegaze-dream pop axis, yet Sweeney’s delicate, angelic vocals keep the music serene and intimate. Each track is anchored by a timeless pop hook, each one a lost jewel waiting to be found.
If you missed Understand the first time around, or never knew it existed, this expanded Understood offers more than nostalgia. It’s a vital piece of Irish indie-rock history, proof of a scene that deserves fresh excavation.
