"The Wolves' is .. nothing short of a masterpiece." - The Music
"Jaye Kranz has arrived with a fully formed vision of pastoral, swooping dreampop. In a word: sophisticated" - 4/5 The Herald Sun
"A solid and bewitching set, The Wolves is a beautiful dreamy collection of indie-pop. [Kranz] has one of the most peculiar and most beautiful voices in Australian music. Add in a soft chanted opening melody, a slow steady drum beat, and harmonious hushed choruses and you have the perfect entry into Brighter Later’s mysterious and enchanting world. " -- Tone Deaf
"This debut collection by Melbourne's Brighter Later could be the pencil sketches of a masterpiece.. {The Wolves'] overwhelming organic beauty means this music could drift into the untouched environment of a distant wilderness and not disturb a moment of peace. But if it did that, we would never get to hear it." - 4/5 Chris Martin, Sydney Morning Herald
"Some of the most beautiful music I've ever heard ... [It's] dreamy, wistful and deep. If you like music you can imagine to, then this is for you." - Indie Shuffle
"Elegantly arranged universe .. carefully laid hooks working slow magic." - Rolling Stone
"Spend a little time with these songs: their layers contain seemingly infinite expanses." - Pigeons & Planes (US) , from their feature "Border Breakers: 21 Australian Females Musicians You Should Know'.
"Kranz posseses one of the most interesting voices we've heard this year, an instrument ideally suited for her alt-folk hymns fleshed out with lush, ethereal backing." - Direct Current (USA)
"Hearing [The Wolves'] opening track ‘All The World’ is as much like experiencing weather as listening to music. The overall sensation is rich and soothing and I am drawn closer to the sound as seconds lapse into minutes and songs slowly model themselves into a record.
There are many notable tunes on this album, ‘The Woods’ and ‘All The Great Lakes’ boast choruses that many songwriters would give half an arm to have penned] but it is moments – a rhodes hook, a repeated vocal phrase, a soft percussive flourish – rather than songs, that define the steady and cohesive landscape of The Wolves. The real craft in the Brighter Later sound lies in the skilful and, dare I say, elegant choices of what to feature and what to let blend. The subtlety employed in this selection process exhibits an almost culinary finesse and suggests, to my ears, a painstaking [in its best sense] recording and mixing process.
Comparisons, for those who need them, could be drawn with the gentler side of The Velvet Underground, the deluxe swoon pop of Mazzy Star or even the lush sonic washes of Underground Lovers, but in talking about The Wolves I felt little urge to discuss genres or make comparisons. This album stands up on its own as a delightful listen." - 4/5, The Orange Press
"This is an album of tracks that should be shared. No, not via piracy but via verbal promotion to make sure everyone and anyone firstly knows who Brighter Later are, and secondly that they have an absolute gem of an album here. This is indeed an album that not only should be listened to in the dark, dimly lit hours but pretty much anytime and every time you get a chance." - Your Music Radar
"In their eerie grandeur and sparse beauty, the songs sound like an earthier Sigur Ros or less psychedelic Beach House. In short, this is stunning stuff." - The Weekly Review
"The best records offer their own unique world to inhabit. But few do it quite the way The Wolves does. It draws us in with its beauty, yes, but also with its ghostly strangeness and the faint echoes of the familiar recast into something else entirely.
“The Woods” could be She & Him gone nocturnal, while 'All the Great Lakes' applies amorphous harmonies like a hymn summoned dimly from a dream. The opener 'All the World' is typical of this atypical record – a thing of mysterious moving parts and late-night mystique. This is the kind of record to spark genuine word-of-mouth enthusiasm. We may as well let that enthusiasm start here. Go on, inhabit The Wolves." - Doug Wallen, Mess+Noise
"There is a precision in the way these sounds are arranged which could only have been crafted. All the elements are carefully mixed to create a unique and fascinating texture, which surprises at every listen. It’s the kind of sound you’d expect from a dozen musicians in a world-class studio .. When people remember this album, and they will remember it, I promise .. Each of these songs is good enough to last." - Timber & Steel
“Enigmatic. Mysterious. At times exuding such warmth that the listener cannot help but melt. Haunting. Evocative. Beautiful. Brighter Later’s The Wolves is all of these things. Casual listeners beware, this record demands attention. . . . There are disparate elements working from song to song. But the distinctive vocal delivery of Jaye Kranz (imagine a cross between the frail beauty of Lisa Mitchell and a more bluesy, tender Alison Goldfrapp) constitutes the vital thread. Kranz has in spades a knack for writing a killer chorus (‘Slow Roller’ and ‘Magnolia’ in particular). More remarkable however, is her ability to meld the sheer number of instruments at her disposal into a compound that works. . . . it’s an overriding sense of nature that is perhaps the LP’s most alluring quality. The record is warm and embracing, making it the perfect soundtrack to a rainy, frosty Sunday afternoon.” - Lip Mag
"When your name (I presume, anyway) references a Nick Drake record, it’s almost expected that your music will carry a sense of quiet affection and restraint along with it and thankfully that’s exactly, and brilliantly, the case with Melbourne duo Brighter Later. Elegantly constructed and beautifully layered, 'Come And Go' is a subtle ode to changing seasons and changing times." - Gold Flake Paint, UK
"As debut records go, it’s always a major plus when on first listen, you just want to listen to it again, and then again, and then again. This is a release that quite genuinely transports you to another place. In an almost dream like state, you loose track of time." - Mismatch
"Beach House gone folk? Simplistic though it may be, that phrase sums up both the all-enveloping comfort and slow-burn pastoral majesty of ‘The Woods’." - Mess+Noise
"'['The Woods'] exerts so much dreamy brilliance it’s hard to stop listening to it over and over again. This folks, is how you properly release your first introduction to the world and leave a completely memorable experiences to headphones everywhere." - Hand Clap Movement
“It’s quite clear why the dream-pop-sticker has been put onto this music: the uncertainty of nighttime, the state in which you can’t recall if you’re asleep or wake; that is the place where these songs seem to be coming from. A calming in-between.” - Nothing But Hope And Passion
"Melbourne natives Brighter Later have perfected the captivating mixture of Beach House-style dream-pop with lush folk instrumentation. The result is a gorgeous concoction which perfectly deals out every piece of its magic with a gentle touch. It’s hard not to be drawn in." - Alphabet Pony
"Brighter Later are a little bit like a softer Fleet Foxes, or perhaps a more deeper-timbred First Aid Kit with additional synth. Comparisons aside, we're sure liking The Woods off their forthcoming album." – Rip It Up
"Kranz exudes an alluring cool and that quiet intimacy found only in the early hours of the morning. Throw in some riffs, beautiful chants, and some lushly textured soundscapes, and you’ve got some serious indie folk." - Aesthetes Anonymous
INTERVIEWS:
Interview for ABC Radio National 'Drive' program's 'Monday Muse'
FBi's Flog
Jaye was Brian Wise's guest on his legendary Triple R FM program Off The Record. Listen HERE.
ABC 774 Evenings with Lindy Burns
106.7 PBS Breakfast Show 'Musical Chairs' segment (Interview & Jaye host DJ-ing last 30 mins of show)
Triple R's The Grapevine
106.7 PBS FM's Homebrew
National Gallery of Victoria blog Q&A
OTHER WRITE-UPS, REVIEWS etc:
Mess + Noise TRACK BY TRACK feature of 'The Wolves'
Live review, AdamNOTeve album review, Frankie Mag's Tunesday, Inpress Magazine article, The Dadada, Your Music Radar, Indiehere, Bitzl R, Sweet Polka launch blog-post,