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brokenNess
- A Tale of Rebirth in Music... and in Life "ICU in Dandelions" is laid out like a journal of recovery. The first track, "Mr. Indecision," is about just that ‹ Barger admits to knowing he had a problem with drugs, but didn't know what to do about it, and admits, with hindsight, that he was too terrified to actually confront his problem. "I Feel Bad" is about meeting his daughter Moyra's mother for the first time, and his attempts to clean up his life and be a good father to his infant daughter. The theme of the album grows darker from there, with Barger reflecting on his plummet through drug addiction with brutal honesty, growing lighter and more hopeful again through the process of healing.
MP3: "ICU
In Dandylions" The story surrounding the creation of the album is almost as poignant as the music itself. "In the early fall of 2000," says Barger, "my four-year-old Moyra and I were driving by a 7-11 when she blurted out, 'I see you in dandelions, Daddy.' I proceeded to tell her that was silly, but she insisted. 'No, Daddy, it's true.' That statement swirled around in my head for a couple of days... I sat down with my acoustic guitar and the [title] song just came out. I see it as divine inspiration. The story of the dandelion - which after dying and being spread across the sky comes back stronger than ever - is my story, and the story of countless people I know and have heard about. A rebirth."
MP3: "I
Feel Bad"
MP3: "The
Ocean Makes Her Cry" www.brokennessonline.com | www.mp3.com/BrokenNess |
The
Tacoma, Washington trio of guitarist/vocalist Regan Barger, bassist
Ray Hartman and percussionist Dana Estepa first played and recorded
together in the eclectic Northwest rock band Groovy Times in Babylon,
resulting in one album, "The Smallness That We Are." One of the
tracks from that album, "Time Flies," spent six weeks in the Billboardtalent.net
top ten, while another, "So Wrong," spent six months in the top
200 on the mp3.com alternative music charts. Unfortunately, just
as things were starting to look up for the band, Barger himself
was falling apart. His addiction to opiates spiraled out of control,
causing him to lose his marriage, his job, his daughter, and ultimately,
even his band. 
The
idea for brokenNess came to Barger in rehab as a play on words to
describe the physical, emotional, and spiritual health of the general
population. After his 28-day stay at the drug and alcohol treatment
center, Barger caught up with his former bandmates and enlisted
their help in creating "ICU in Dandelions," a collection of songs
that encapsulate Barger's trials and triumphs of the previous years,
adding new songs to reflect even brighter Barger's optimistic perspective
on his uncertain future. 
Barger
writes really pretty, accessible songs about longing in general,
with seemingly simplistic musical arrangements that hit all the
right notes to make these songs way too hummable. I mean, these
are songs that are hard to get out of your head, they're just so
damned catchy (hence, the use of the phrase "seemingly simplistic
musical arrangements," because there is a skill to make songs so
unforgettable). While these are mostly love songs, they're not sappy,
or melodramatic ‹ in fact, they're spritely, and cheerful, and hopeful,
with only a touch of melancholy here and there. Barger also has
an absolutely amazing voice, sonorous and soft and melancholy, frustratingly
impossible to do complicated tasks to because his music just fills
and dominates a room. The resulting album is just pure joy to listen
to - even though it's an awfully melancholy collection of songs,
there's this wonderful current of wistful hope bubbling throughout
the album that keeps it from ever being maudlin or truly sad, well-suited
for an album that's centered around hope and redemption, love and
loss. Backed by Hartman on bass and Estepa on percussion, this album
is a remarkably intimate piece of work. There's an incredibly tender
and fragile quality to "ICU in Dandelions" that makes it absolutely
endearing to its listeners. 
It's
not hard to understand why so many people have drawn comparisons
between this band to the late George Harrison and what he did with
the Beatles. The spacey, lush guitar solos that characterized so
much of Harrison's career are paid homage to in many of these songs,
particularly in "I Feel Bad" and "Never the Same." Since their inception,
and more so now with the release of this album, BrokenNess' music
has become a mantra of hope for not only its members, but for anyone
out there that has struggled with who they are and where they're
headed. With the recent addition of newcomers Barry McGarry on guitar
and Robert Richholt on keyboards, one can only expect even more
great music from this inspirational band. 
