Toronto-based contemporary soul/R&B singer-songwriter Brahny (Brian Han) admitted that there is not much rhyme or reason to his stage name (a surviving childhood nickname), but this is certainly not also the case with his recent song and debut music video. “Bloom” is effortlessly smooth and comforting, pairing Han’s warm and passionate vocals with unhurried guitar chords and keys. Mallory Yung’s airy backing vocals create a nice contrast to Han’s earthy tenor, working harmoniously to create an intergenerational ode to romanticism.
The song’s lyrics were inspired by Han’s trip to visit his grandparents in China. Learning more about their life experiences catalyzed a new outlook to his own relationships and problems. As an artist who cannot stop himself from pursuing the perennial question of love, he ultimately decided to “explore the difference in how older people and young people experience love and affection.” The song’s first verse thus describes how romance is perceived by an “old mind” and “old ears”, which is then neatly contrasted with the “young hearts”, “new eyes”, and “young ears” in the second verse. (You can hunt for a thesis statement, but Han’s poetic lyrics are more impressionistic than analytical). The chorus, however, indulges in the perception that young love - which is unburdened by familiarity - is the more memorable one: ‘Remember back when you were young summer nights were love/ Liquor melts into your heart starbursts on your tongue.’
The accompanying music video presents a casual vision of Canadian multiculturalism. Directed by Scott Zhang (a.k.a. Monsune), it features a young East Asian woman, a young black man, and a young Hispanic woman crossing paths at a makeshift Laundromat concert along Toronto’s Christie Street. The psychedelic gel lights mark their entrance into an alternate space, where love’s promise of rejuvenation serves as an antidote to urban isolation and jadedness.
