Ky J. Brandes creates indie-rock ear candy out of a small home studio in Nashville, TN. Brandes’ songwriting is earnest and vulnerable: punchy melodic bass underneath layered guitars, lush strings, and tight grooves. After a year of performing early singles and his 2024 EP, the bassist singer/songwriter returns with a new batch of tracks on his debut LP.

Ky's debut album Put Down is out now. The fourteen-song record expands his introspective, sometimes eerie, and surreal musical world. Released a year after his EP, Since I Left Amarillo, the album broadens his sound with a mix of folk-rock, indie twang, and experimental textures.

Echoing the split black-and-white visuals used in promotional materials leading up to release, the record thrives on contrast and duality. There are moments of raw intensity like the distorted crescendo of “Rubber Pawn” or the jittering bluegrass drive of “The Half of It.” Other tracks pull back into introspective calm. “Yellow Pain Door” and “Broken Beak” rise on harmonies with a steady-paced groove, while “Strung Out Dog” brings lo-fi intimacy that recalls Elliott Smith’s early work.

Much of Ky’s growth comes from a year spent playing Nashville’s live scene, performing early singles and Amarillo material with a full band. These shows sharpened his arrangements and expanded his instrumental palette with lap steel, fiddle, bluegrass rhythms, and more driving drums. Rooted in his time as an upright bassist for Belmont University’s Bluegrass Ensemble, including a performance at the Grand Ole Opry, Ky’s pivot to indie twang is marked by an authentic interest.

Even as he explores new sounds, Ky continues to center his music on melodic McCartney-inspired bass, layered vocals, and literary narratives. The longer LP format lets the songs breathe while still carrying the dense, detailed arrangements of his earlier work. Thematically, Put Down reflects on loss and change. If Amarillo marked Ky’s coming of age, Put Down finds him looking back through existential contemplation, capturing memories like pages in a worn photo book.

Ky's artistry began taking shape after leaving his dusty, dead-end hometown of Amarillo, Texas, when Brandes found a home in Nashville to pursue a bigger and better life. He enrolled at Belmont University as a commercial bass performance and audio engineering double major to perfect his craft for indie rock hit-making. Less than a year in Music City, Brandes was given the opportunity to join the university’s bluegrass ensemble as the upright bassist.

After a few years of studying the craft of songwriting, performance and production, Ky began his solo project in 2023 and continues to consistently release music. While Put Down is his most substantial work to date, his talent for narrative and world building originates from his very first singles.