Dreamboat Bring Prudence

• 1Chinchilla03:12
• 2Midnight03:57
• 3Summon the Ghost03:16
• 4Candle in a Jar03:22
• 5Potions03:33
• 6Bonfire02:16
• 7Iron Wolf02:56
• 8City of Twins03:05
• 9Joan of Arc02:23
• 10Storm Queen04:18
• 11Watermelon03:44
• Total Runtime36:02

Info for Dreamboat

Dreamboat, the second full-length album by Bring Prudence, doubles down on the sound Zaychenko calls “folk resuscitation.” Beginning with a few seconds of glistening ambient tones before slipping into a gentle stream of pianet, bass, and brush drums, the opener has him conceding, “my sisters they love me, they win at Monopoly.” Dreamboat, released on Zaychenko’s own Brilliant Green Records, is a tender and airtight album, breaking into folk-rock at times, at others shimmering with the subtle textures of chamber pop — an immediate and poignant story told by a wide cast of characters.

The 33-year old Ukrainian-born songwriter has expanded upon the foundation of his stripped-down debut LP Red Horses (2016), reuniting with former Pursued By a Bear bandmate Julia Brown (Barrel Flash) on backing vocals. Initially tapped as a mixing engineer, multi-instrumentalist and producer Damon Waitkus (Jack O’ The Clock, Ventifacts) ended up contributing pianet, mandolin, vocals, atmosphere, and Jason Molina-esque slide guitar. “I may be an only child, but I had a blast working with a team of musicians who are better than me on this record,” says Zaychenko. The album also features Paul Collins (Beirut) on bass, Will Matsuda on drums, Jordan Barhydt on piano, and Juliet Jacobs on violin.

Zaychenko sings of magical thinking, disintegrating relationships, childhood loneliness, and sacrifice, sprinkling in some business jargon and Ukrainian folklore characters. The cover art, a twist on the cosmological exterior panels of Bosch’s “Garden of Earthly Delights,” is a composite of those themes and characters. Created by visual artist Jess Hock, the cover incorporates hand-drawn, digital, and photographed elements into a dreamlike display.

“Music is a form of time travel,” says Zaychenko, “and Dreamboat is soaked in memories — some real, some absurd — but what I love about this album is they’re not just my memories this time.”

Oleh Zaychenko, vocals, acoustic guitar, domra, ukulele
Damon Waitkus, acoustic guitar, baritone and piccolo electric guitar, mandolin, hammer dulcimer, pianet, melodica, glockenspiel, tongue drum, ukelin, percussion, backing vocals
Julia Brown, backing vocals
Will Matsuda, drums, piano
Paul Collins, bass
Jordan Barhydt, piano
Juliet Jacobs, violin
Willa Glickman, violin
Will Naess, viola
Kate McLoughlin, bassoon

Produced by Damon Waitkus & Oleh Zaychenko
Mixed by Damon Waitkus
Mastered by Myles Boisen

Oleh Zaychenko
chose the name Bring Prudence because he wanted to be right next to Bring Crosby and Bright Eyes on his clickwheel iPod. It wasn’t until many years later that he realized Bing didn’t actually have an “r” in his name.

After moving to the Chicago suburbs from Ukraine in 2003, Zaychenko started writing poems and recording songs into his cell phone to cope with isolation. By 16, he saved up enough money from his Dunkin’ Donuts job to buy Jasmine — his only acoustic guitar to date.

Having played in several high-school and college bands (Bad Bad Hats, Pursued By a Bear, Win Win), Oleh decided to move to Brooklyn and focus on Bring Prudence. In 2010, he released his first EP, Engineers, pioneering the “electronnui” sound, which he defines as “electronic music but sadder.” His melodic EP Aliens followed suit in 2013, earning praise from The Current, BIRP, Indie Rock Cafe, Recent Music Heroes, Echolalia Radio, and The Bomarr Blog.

Zaychenko’s next release was profoundly impacted by Sparrow Night — a weekly mixed-media workshop of local Brooklyn musicians, artists, and poets held in the kitchen of his Crown Heights apartment. Zaychenko would write and bring in a new song every Sunday. The resulting album, Red Horses, explored themes of seduction, alienation, and loss of innocence over sparse acoustic arrangements, supplemented only by the lush bass and piano of Jared van Fleet (Beirut, Voxtrot).

Described as “smooth, striking vocals running loosely over his simple acoustic guitar” (Impose Magazine) and “a body of work that can be dissected into witticism-thoughts” (Elevatrtrax), Red Horses (2016) gained wider exposure for Bring Prudence on the New York singer-songwriter stage, leading to performances at venues like the Bowery Electric, Pianos, Cake Shop, Rockwood Music Hall, and the Way Station.

This album contains no booklet.