"Recharge" is an album I've recorded during the pandemic. Most of it was recorded in February '22, when I took the month off of work to focus on music.

This album features a lot of collaborations with other musicians I found on Reddit in subreddits like /r/NeedVocals.

If you enjoy making this kind of music, and would like to collaborate, let's talk!

Recharge

Music by @user-467888932
Lyrics and vocals by @brianvaughn
Photo by Eduardo Garcia-Nieto (unsplash.com/@edugarcianieto)

"Back to the Beginning"

I'm sorry for the way I can't sit with how I feel.
I thought I could bury the parts that were bad.

Oh, the things that we try to believe...

I don't know what I believe.
I don't know what to think about me.

  These are predictable things.
  We act the same ways and nothing here changes.
  So I dissociate again.
  I don't know how to be a friend without falling apart.

We try again but we only get further down in the hole we're in.
We cut into each other's skin trying to hold onto this.
I don't blame you for the things that happened in the past,
But somehow we've got to move past it.

Sometimes it is what you think and all you can do is leave.
But where would that leave me?

  These are predictable things.
  We act the same ways and nothing here changes.
  So I dissociate again.
  I don't know how to be a friend without falling apart.

And then what would I do?
I'm afraid to lose the little things.

I guess that's life though.
You can't hold onto everyone.
It doesn't matter how hard you try.
Just give it a little time, it's almost always alright.
Don't just try to avoid any pain.
It's okay to feel something even when you feel afraid.
I wish I'd learned these things in an easier way, so they didn't hurt anyone.
I wish I knew what to say to fix this thing,
To take it back to the beginning.

Back to the Beginning (feat. TedStedt)

Music and lyrics by Brian Vaughn
Photo by Linmiao Xu (unsplash.com/@linrock)

---

Not big enough for both of us.

Brooklyn sidewalk
No-snow sky fall
I thought I made a mistake
Memory driving
Mind on auto

On a walk to Fuzhou town
My mind replays our last conversation
Didn't mean to let you down.
I wish it could have gone some other way.

But I think I said what I had to say.
And now what do I do about it?
Now what do I do?

I guess I'll sit with the feelings instead of running from myself.
I'll try to stick with the feelings.
Yeah, I'll sit with the feelings.
This time I won't run.
I'll try to stick with the feelings.
I will ride it out, forever.

Sit With the Feelings

Music by @viperdrivemusic
Lyrics and vocals by @brianvaughn

"Indigo Dreams"

She's off in search of satisfaction
I know that she's never coming back
I set out in the opposite direction
Got lost as soon as she walked away

Are you happy like that?
Not knowing where you're going?
Don't be sad; at least you'll move faster on your own
Do you ever look back?
Half of the fight is knowing
All of these questions I'm asking myself but I'll never know

Looking back it was never that bad
We had the same problems everyone had
But I had my work and you had your TV
We never knew how to talk about our feelings
Eventually I guess they went away

I've been running for three years in the opposite direction
But it doesn't matter because California's got the papers
Are these mistakes that I have made or just normal scars?
Will I ever rid myself of the feeling?

I hate talking to you.
I hate having to.
I hate talking to you.

I'll take care of things like I always do.

Indigo Dreams (feat. Viperdrive)

Music by @acenthevibes
Lyrics and vocals by @brianvaughn
Photo by Alexander Popov (unsplash.com/@5tep5)

I'm not going to over-think this
Try to have a little fun
And if my mind gets in the way, that's okay
I'll just keep trying

Shouldn't have to tell me that this is what it's all about
You shouldn't need to tell me that it's these moments we're living in

Stop.
Tell me what do you think?
I want to know what you're thinking.
Stop.
I imagine every kind of thing.

There's a voice inside my
Telling me that I could be enough but
It only matters if you're going to try

I'm not going to over-think this
Try to have a little fun
And if my mind gets in the way, that's okay
I'll just keep trying

Shouldn't have to tell me that this is what it's all about
You shouldn't need to tell me that it's these moments we're living in

Sit with the thoughts and feel what you're feeling now
Don't run away; don't try to explain
I can't lie and say that I've got it all figured out
I won't try pretend that I get it all right
I don't even know if I'm even in the right this time
but I'm going to try to live life

I'm not Going to Overthink This (feat. Cedric Dhaenens)

Music by @acenthevibes
Lyrics and vocals by @brianvaughn
Photo by Javardh (unsplash.com/@_javardh_001)

"She Said"

How'd we get this way?
I'll never know
I've tried to reconstruct and think of things that I could have changed
But I think that there's no way to win that game

Given what we know about each other
What the hell was running through our heads?
I hope you're happier now
If no other good thing comes from this

You can't fix this thing by running away
The things inside always come along
There's just somethings you're always going to take
No matter where you go
You turn around, and there you are

So what were we thinking?
What was running through our heads?
I hope you're happier now
If no other good thing comes from this

Rock bottom dropped out
With no where left to turn
Throw out the thunder and the sun
And wrestle with the lessons that we've learned

The words you said bounce around in my mind
Even after all this time, I can't let them go
I hope you're happier now,
If no other good thing comes

She Said (feat. Cedric Dhaenens)

Music by @remarkableartist
Lyrics and vocals by @brianvaughn
Photo by Adrian N (unsplash.com/@anewevisual)

"You and I"

You want to know
You need to know this

Harder to look back
Damn this hindsight

Sometimes things can end before they've even started
You and I
There's no solution for a broken heart but time

I want to tell you something I know
I want to tell you
After I've thought about it, I realize I want to tell you

There's a guilt I've felt
I picked it up on my way out
I know it doesn't help you
But even so, I can't shake it

I watched you fall in and I didn't stop it

Sometimes things can end before they've even started
You and I
There's no solution for a broken heart but time

You and I (feat. Mark Miller)

Music by Igor Rabovsky
Lyrics and vocals by Brian Vaughn
Photo by Jane Duursma (unsplash.com/@madebyjane)

"It Doesn't Matter"

Our bodies rise and fall with the ocean tide
The sun shines down its light on the shore line

It doesn't matter like before
You're already free

I wish you knew
I wish you thought about-

Go on and fight your war
It doesn't matter like it did before
Wrapped up in a blanket on the living room floor

It doesn't matter like before
You're already free
It doesn't matter like before
What do you need?
I'm letting you down
This is not some kind of dream
Don't you cry

I wish you knew
I wish you thought about-

It Doesn't Matter (feat. Igor Rabovsky)

I see something in you that you don't see.
I saw the thing take shape over time.
I don't know if anyone will believe the things I say.
It's in your eyes.

I let you in.
Showed you my throat.
Laid down in the grass at your side.
We were a family in everything but name.
You took it all in time.

You took it all.

Press ahead.
Push through.
Separate myself from you.
I should be able to.
I've tried.

Your shell was delicate, like you had never done a thing.
But you had a sharpness to your mind.
My life for yours.
No one had to see.
But now that you're not you, what does that mean?

You took it all.

Press ahead.
Push through.
Separate myself from you.
I couldn't follow you, but I tried.

Take

Music by @thekenwheeler
Lyrics and vocals by Brian Vaughn
Photo by Steve Roe (www.instagram.com/steveroe_)

There wasn't a me before you.
There wasn't a time or place.
Everything is easier when you're looking back,
But even so.
Damn.
I didn't see it.

Forget my name.
Who cares?
Just say you didn't want it.
I just can't see any way out of this place.
I can hold my breath for days.
But where should the air in my lungs come from?

You kept these secrets from me.
I didn't know anything.
For the last few months, I thought that something might be wrong.
I even asked you about.
But damn.
I don't believe it.

Now that this is in the open, what becomes of me?
I can pretend to be strong.
I can pretend to be okay.
But not for you.

You took it all from me, and you don't even feel bad about it.
From what I see, you don't even feel bad about it.

Damn (feat. Ken Wheeler)

Lyrics and music by Brian Vaughn

Artwork by Joel Filipe (https://unsplash.com/photos/Wc8k-KryEPM)

"You Know Me Better"

You know me better than I know myself.

You brought me the sky.
Told me to look up.
You carried us to the sea and set me beside it.
You taught me emotions could be okay as long as there's a gentle heart that beats behind them.

I ran my own race because that's what I do.
I lied to myself, and I guess to you.
Woke up in a city I don't recognize, and you're gone.

You know me better than I know myself.

I thought about you a lot in the past few days.
The California sky is just another thing that reminds me that everything can change.
And sometimes that's okay.
Either way, it's change.

There's no regret.
There's too many little things.
I don't even know how I'd begin to organize.
Just lean out the window on a cold cold morning and say...

You know me better than I know myself.

I know me well, but you know me better.
You know what's best.
You know me better than I know myself.

You are a part of me.
You know me better than I know myself.

You Know Me Better

Music by Viperdrive (@viperdrivemusic)
Lyrics and vocals by Brian Vaughn
Artwork by Sara Vieira

"Tonighgt"

Where should I go tonight?
Should I follow my heart?
I want to go to wherever you have been waiting.
If I run too fast at the first sign, maybe you'll break my heart.
It's just the way you are.
You fascinate me.

Here I am, returned again, after all this time has passed.
Here I am, still wondering– an image of you still stuck in my mind.
Every day, in your place, just a memory of where we've been.

Where should I go tonight?
Should I follow my heart?
I want to go to wherever you have been waiting.
If I run too fast at the first sign, maybe you'll break my heart.
It's just the way you are.
You fascinate me.

I see the stars, the midnight sky, and I know that's where you are.
You should be here with me.
Take this feeling back where it came.
I see the stars lifted high.
Let the sirens call.
I fall back to the space in my mind.

Where should I go tonight?
Should I follow my heart?
I want to go to wherever you have been waiting.
If I run too fast at the first sign, maybe you'll break my heart.
It's just the way you are.
You fascinate me.

Should I follow you?
Where should I go?
Should I follow you? (Should I follow?)
Midnight has been calling.
Lifted high.

Tonight (feat. Viperdrive)

Music by Viperdrive (@viperdrivemusic)
Lyrics and vocals by Brian Vaughn
Artwork by Sara Vieira

"This was Our Future"

It seems like yesterday you and I were on our way to California.
We didn't have plans back then but that was alright with me.
I can still close my eyes and go to a place in time–
When I still thought that I could keep you here.

Who I am now doesn't have to be the only way.
People say there's always time for change.
These doubts inside, they don't have to mean something.
Sometimes we just get lost in yesterday.

I still remember when this was our future,
But you walked away.
Friends tell each other everything, so I thought I knew you,
But you didn't show your true face.

I was all for you.
I thought you were for me, too.
Friendships are better when they go both ways.
But the truth that I'm seeing is that I held you too high in the first place.
I forgot to remember me.

I still remember when this was our future,
But you walked away.
Friends tell each other everything, so I thought I knew you,
But you didn't show your true face.

I still remember when...
Show your true face...

I still remember when this was our future,
But you walked away.
Friends tell each other everything, so I thought I knew you,
But you didn't show your true face.

Come on and show your true face.

This was Our Future (feat. Viperdrive)

Music, lyrics, and vocals by Brian Vaughn
Drums by Alex Hinson
Photo by takahiro taguchi (unsplash.com/@tak_tag)

"If I Don't"

i was hid behind the curtain
and suddenly stepped out
you were the sun behind the clouds

maybe life is falling
like me for you? no
like on the ground
i puddle and i reflect you from below
  
sometimes it's easier to be impossible than just a bit too far away
i know it's a fragile thing
like you and me, and our insecurities
but if you let me
if you let me
i plan to stay

right now the easiest thing to do would be to run away
take the secrets i still have
so i don't give them to you

the safest place that i could be now is home inside my room
but i spent 2020 doing just that
the only part that i don't regret was in september
and then into the winter
as i opened up to you

If I Don't

Music by @scratchcard_glory, lyrics and vocals by Brian Vaughn

It's just a name, but one you're meant to have.
Don't turn away.
I feel it when you move.
I gravitate to you.

I'm falling down.
I'm falling down to you.

Lead the way with your body.
I'll follow.
Take me anywhere.
Just say the words and I'll be yours.

I'm falling down.
I'm falling down to you.

I see your eyes from across the room.
But next to you, I'm not so pretty.
What do you see?

I'm falling down.
I'm falling down to you.

Sakura (feat. Scratchcard Glory)

I’m a software engineer, musician, and runner.