Bryan Master’s For People Like Us hit iTunes today, but Brash got a sneak peek and we liked what we heard. The album is a straight-from-the-heart tell all of Master’s life experiences and the musician’s struggles to find success. Master made his debut in 2003 with Lost at Sea, which many considered to be quite melancholy. But on his third go-around, Master has stepped into the sun while still maintaining his personal brand of mellow.

The album opens up with “Moments Like This,” a song that serves as an audio scrapbook where Master recognizes how far he’s come since leaving NYC and how much farther he has to go. In it, he provides witty advice with lyrics like, “And I wish you luck/Just make sure that the light in that tunnel’s not an oncoming truck.” It also features sounds similar to a theremin floating in the background to add a foreboding feel to it.

Most of the songs have a slow burn where with an upward crescendo. To achieve the sound, Master forwent playing all of the instruments himself and brought in some of the best session musicians and guests to help. Liz Phair lends her vocals to create a flowing harmony on “Let Me Come In.” She certainly adds another dimension to the story of struggling to understand why life seems to be a series of letdowns when one is trying to break through.

The most movement comes out of “Born in the Breakdown” and “Los Angeles” (Joey’s Song). Both are rocking tracks that liven things up in the middle of the record. Los Angeles has Masters weighing the options of major success with selling his and trying to find perspective. Confronting reality and finding his way back to the beginning in “Born in the Breakdown” has the repetition of “We Only Live Today” and almost makes it seem that he’s trying to convince himself more than his audience.

Master spouts motivation that’s both personable and infectious; in “Wake Up,”  he pushes his audience and himself out there to make their dreams come true and not let chances slip away with words like, “Don’t ask/For what you won’t receive/Take Hold/and don’t dare let go of what you believe” and “Wake up/ To smell the coffee that’s been waiting years for you/Stand up/And go after it, it won’t come to you” are enough to make anyone want to drop what they’re doing and take to the streets.

You will be hard pressed to find another record that can provide the calming, contemplative and motivational mood that For People Like Us has. The album is now available on iTunes and at CDBaby.com; it’s definitely for people like us!