originally published: 03/04/2023

Ferocious Designs, the music project of central New Jersey-based songwriter Brian Kelley, has released “Looking for the Light,” the lead single and title track from its upcoming debut album. The single is now available to stream or download via Bandcamp.

“Looking for the Light” was the first of five new tracks written specifically for the album. “We seem to be in some rather dark times filled with misinformation and propaganda,” said Kelley. “The song is about finding a light to get us through the dark, but also alludes to the hope for a new age of enlightenment to make the world a better place.

“It’s a theme that runs through the entire album, so it naturally became the title of the album as well,” added Kelley.

Music and lyrics by Brian Kelley (who handles vocals, keyboards, guitars and other instrumentation). Video footage courtesy of Videezy.com

Looking for the Light features 11 tracks connected by the idea of perseverance. “All of these songs deal with finding your way through adversity, or at least finding the hope needed to navigate through your issues,” said Kelley. “A light at the end of the tunnel, if you will.”

The album will be available Friday, March 10, via Bandcamp and most streaming/download services.

Ferocious Designs is the DIY music project of central New Jersey-based songwriter Brian Kelley. Although he has spent most of the past 30-plus years as a songwriting hobbyist, Kelley is not a complete stranger to the New Jersey music scene. He is a longtime collaborator with singer-songwriter Christian Beach, spending time with him during the late 1980s and early 90s in a band that played the much-loved and long-gone Green Parrot Rock Club in Neptune, NJ, multiple times. Kelley has played keyboards, accordion and percussion in Beach's backing band since 2007, and has recorded with him as well.

The project name is borrowed from the lyrics of “Cover My Eyes (Pain and Heaven)” by Marillion. The debut, five-song EP from Ferocious Designs, A Matter of Time, was released on July 16, 2021. That same day, the project’s debut single, “Lay It on the Line,” was named Makin Waves Song of the Week by longtime New Jersey music journalist Bob Makin.

 

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