NOT DONE YET
OUT NOW
Teri Bracken’s career as Brontë Fall began almost accidentally. The singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist who was born and raised in the Chicago suburbs had always been a music obsessive, dreaming of forming her own bands and playing on stages. While working as the “door girl” at an indie music venue in Chicago, a chance opportunity allowed her to book her first gig as an artist. She quickly came up with a band name (honoring her favorite writers, the Brontë sisters), compiled all the original songs she had, and never, ever looked back. Bracken’s road to acclaimed songwriter began in childhood, when she picked up piano at age 7. Classical violin lessons soon followed, and eventually she was tapped as the singer/violinist in a college rock band with a group of nineties rock loving frat boys. After leaving the guys, she further pursued her passion for violin playing at Berklee, which is where she fell in love with songwriting once and for all. Bracken eventually made her way to Nashville—a dream come true considering it is a songwriter’s mecca.
Teri Bracken’s new album as Brontë Fall, Not Done Yet is about resolve and spirit and ignoring anything in the way of dreaming — even yourself. Bracken wrestles with herself throughout the album. She almost quits, she pulls herself back; she laughs at those who told her to get a more sustainable career; she curses herself for not getting a more sustainable career. The album, defiant and beautiful and mournful and triumphant, is a chronicle of a life lived exactly as Bracken wants, compromising to no one in her quest to continue building a budding and supportive scene for alt-Americana around the country.
“NOT DONE YET”
This album, at its core, is about survival, perseverance and legacy. It is the product of eight years hustling for my long-held girlhood dream, which often feels out of reach. It's a little jaded, a little bitter, but resoundingly determined. I battle through expectations and milestones I “should” be crossing, set upon me by society and family. The lyrics encapsulate the exhilaration and strife of being a thirty something woman, trekking her own creative path in this day and age. And within this chaos, I struggle through the most heartbreaking experience of all - losing the person I was closest to in the world. I dedicate the entirety of this work of art to my late father, John W. O’Brien (aka: Big Johnny or Doddy). His perseverance and will to survive until the very end will keep me going until my own dying breath. He was my guiding light, my best friend and the most excellent example of how to live a happy, inspired life.
