Influenced by the understated simplicity of the Carly Simon, James Taylor, and Carole King records he grew up with, James knew he wanted his debut to sound natural and unaffected. “The phrase ‘stripped-down’ is so overused, and ‘bare-bones’ doesn’t really describe it,” he says, “but I wanted the simplicity of the art to come through. I wanted it to have tasteful blend of folk and pop influences.”

James, who grew up in Derry, NH, accomplishes all that and more on The Day Is Brave. Dominated by James’ expressive piano playing, the songs touch on a wide range of subjects, many of them autobiographical, like “Green,” about a former girlfriend that he met while working at Urban Outfitters, who came from a troubled family and always wore something green, and “Take the Fall,” which ponders a person’s responsibility to others in these quickly changing times. That sort of earnest reflection also finds its way into “Manchester,” about the town in New Hampshire where James spent most of his time after his parents divorced, and the ballad “The Sun Will Rise” — a song so affecting, the music supervisor of the hit ABC show Private Practice used it in a particularly poignant scene in seasons final episode of 2007.

Another album highlight is “The Other Side,” a playful tune James wrote about not being cool. “I did not fit in in high school,” he admits, “and it’s just about that moment when you wake up on the other side of life and are like, ‘Man, I don’t have to deal with that anymore.’” Other standout tracks include “Early April Morning,” a deeply felt love song, and “Hero’s Song,” a soldier’s-eye view of the Iraq war that concludes: “I cannot die this way, no I will not die this way” amid somber trumpet tones.

Though James was always told he had a powerful voice, he didn’t begin writing songs until his sophomore year at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. While at home in Derry on Christmas break, James was approached by a local music teacher, Kevin Kandel, who had heard him sing “Candle in the Wind” at the funeral for James’ best friend’s mother. “Kevin said to me, ‘I can’t get your voice out of my head. You have something very unique inside of you and I think you should learn to play an instrument and try to write your own songs.’ We then spent the whole night listening to hundreds of records by classic artists like the Beatles and Bob Dylan and Stevie Wonder, and he’d point out the phrasing and songwriting style of each one. By the next morning, I was hooked. It just fueled this thing inside me and I went back to school with a brand-new fire.”

In 2003, James’ manager was able to get a demo James had made to Carly Simon at her home on Martha’s Vineyard “just to see what would happen,” James says with a laugh. Two weeks later, he received a call from the legendary singer/songwriter, who told him that she couldn’t get enough of his voice and had begun singing his songs around the house. “It was surreal,” James recalls. “She was so complimentary, not only of my voice, but of the songs. She told me I needed to keep writing.” Simon asked James to come to Martha’s Vineyard, where the two recorded a version of her Oscar-winning song “Let the River Run,” for the 2003 Nobel Peace Prize ceremony.

Encouraged by his new mentor, James continued to write and perform and eventually got signed to his first recording contract.

Download Green by Brendan James