Crystal blue steps into the spotlight with Two Shots of Brandy, her debut album released on December 3, 2025, from New York City, and it lands like a long-awaited confession finally spoken out loud. After five years of songwriting, Crystal turns her small apartment into a creative sanctuary, merging country storytelling with soulful grooves and gospel-tinted emotion. Influenced by the raw honesty of Chris Stapleton and Jelly Roll, the album feels intimate and lived-in, driven by the simple goal of telling the truth and letting melodies do the rest.
The album opens with โTwo Shots of Brandy,โ with shimmering guitar lines gliding over thumping beats as the vocalistโs somber, reflective voice surrenders to the feeling. He sings melancholically, letting vulnerability spill into every phrase, especially when he confesses, โBrandy, youโre my despair, and still I am frozen, trapped in that chair.โ The track feels like sitting alone with your thoughts a little too late at night, when emotions hit harder, and thereโs nowhere to hide.
Later on, โMs. Paradiseโ shifts the mood without losing its emotional pull. Here, Crystalโs delivery becomes charismatic, sultry, and smug all at once, balancing confidence with exposed nerves. The beats are cool and sexy, built around catchy melodic riffs that beg you to move. The smooth, higher-register vocals glide over the groove as she sings, โGod, just take me away to your planet of love,โ turning the song into a danceable escape fantasy that still carries emotional weight.
The album closes with โRosemary Spell,โ and itโs a fitting final chapter. Romantic and soulful, the track swells with feeling as Crystal sings exhilaratingly over a thumping beat, โRosemary, your loveโs a crime, you keep spinning me circles out of my time.โ When the warm, glowing horns take over in the bridge, it feels like a release โ a last deep breath before the curtain falls.
Two Shots of Brandy is raw, heartfelt, and honest to the bone, a debut that proves Crystal blue didnโt wait too long after all โ she waited until she was ready.
Review by: Naomi Joan