Album Review
January 22, 2025
Jeremy Zucker and Chelsea Cutler by Stefan Kohli
Years before joining forces to make brent’s three renditions, Jeremy Zucker and Chelsea Cutler met at a frat party at a university that neither of them attended. This would be the first instance of the “serendipity,” as Zucker called it, that fueled their collaborations and gave their fans the brent i and brent ii EPs, and the culminating brent iii album. While their joint project has produced notable achievements—including two Gold certified songs (“this is how you fall in love” and “emily” from brent ii) and one Platinum certified track (“you were good to me” from brent i) — it also highlights the strength of their individual careers, which laid the foundation for their success together. brent iii, as the conclusion to the “brent world,” does this like never before, taking themes explored in the EPs with more nuance and detail, reflecting Zucker and Cutler’s maturity and growth in their own careers.
After the creative flow that sparked brent i and the success it garnered, Cutler described feeling like “storm chasers” when trying to make brent ii. The pressure to deliver at the same level and capture the same magic got to Zucker too, who recalls spending hours overthinking and fine-tuning the production. It was only after they traded their large hired studio for a smaller, stripped down version that resembled the one that they recorded brent i in, that the duo started to make leaps in the creation of the project. Even then, brent ii took much longer than the quick brent i, and Zucker believes even longer than brent iii which has twice as many songs.
“At first, we tried too hard, it was definitely a lesson,” he said of the experience.
The personal and professional growth of both artists since brent ii makes brent iii, "a lot more nuanced, a little bit more specific, and honest — in a different way,” according to Zucker. Although the duo address similar themes, (love, loss and nostalgia) the maturity and change with which they approach the themes reflect how they have grown as artists.
Zucker stated that, “In the beginning it was a discovery [...] but this last time (brent iii) we really got to pick apart everything we had worked on together in the past and see how it applies to us today.”
In brent iii, the duo shift towards a more acoustic sound, letting the maturity of their lyrics shine. “A-frame,” the second single, beautifully sets the tone of the album’s sonic landscape. Recorded in an A-frame, a house with an A-shaped roof, and relying heavily on the guitar, the echoes and reverb of the house give the song its uplifting character and punchy chorus. Similarly, “black and white,” uses production expertly to further drive the message of the song, starting stripped down, and filling in with drums and harmonies as the duo sing, “you put color in my black and white.”
Moreover, the honesty of the album is a testament to the friendship Zucker and Cutler have built and maintained. The duo’s closeness gives brent iii the intimacy of a conversation between friends.
“Making art requires comfort and vulnerability — to open up, but also to disagree and work through disagreements,” Cutler states.
This dynamic is woven into every track, from the raw anger in “ashes & rust,” where Cutler confronts generational trauma, to the playful frustration in “and the government too!” where Zucker vents about the challenges of securing a visa for his now-wife.
Like in the other installments of brent, each member has their own solo song, which reminds the audience that Zucker and Cutler are two distinct artists, and helps signpost the phase of life they’re each in. Zucker’s “toothbrush song” is a 1:20 minute love song where he sings about gratitude in his relationship, while Cutler’s “love you into loving me” is its foil — a poignant reflection on a deteriorating connection. Despite the two tracks having drastically different themes, they emphasize brent’s red thread of friendship and honesty. When listened to in sequence, they beautifully set the stage for the duo’s voices to reunite in the final tracks, showcasing the power of their collaboration.
For Zucker and Cutler, whose main focus is their solo careers, brent’s unexpected success has occasionally overshadowed their individual efforts. Cutler described feeling frustrated that her top Spotify tracks were dominated by collaborations, mostly with Zucker, at a time when she was striving to reach key milestones in her solo career. However, as the brent journey concludes, her perspective has shifted.
“If my whole career is characterized by magic collaborations and magic friendships — awesome,” she reflects.
This sentiment adds a deeper layer of appreciation to the brent trilogy and captures the beauty of creative partnerships even as the chapter comes to a close.
Both artists bid farewell to the brent era with their Brent Forever tour, which concluded in early December and symbolically closed the chapter on brent.
Reflecting on the journey, Cutler says, “we can close the door on it,” and Zucker adds, “knowing that we can open it.” “It would be hard to envision us going the rest of our careers without working together in some capacity,” Cutler states.
Like the last song in the album, “good things,” where amongst explosive drums and melodic strings, the duo sing “good things never stay.” The end of brent has a bittersweet feeling, closing the chapter with the same honesty and intention that defined it from the start.
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