The best part about the Brakes and their new album
Give Blood is their attitude: they take neither
themselves nor anyone around them too seriously, which
means they're never trying too hard and they're always
having fun.
Coming together on a drunken whim in
Brighton in 2002, Brakes consist of singer/guitarist
Eamon Hamilton (of British Sea Power) bassist Marc
Beatty (of Tenderfoot), guitarist Tom White and
drummer Alex White (the latter two brothers of the
Electric Soft Parade). When they play, they sound
confident and sloppy. When they sing, they sound
sincere and sarcastic. They crunch and slash like
early punk, toy with country like The Mekons, and use
chiming melodies like indie rock. And all fastened
together by a combination of mockery and carelessness,
they come out with something that could easily stand
up against any of the favorite rock 'n' roll records you turn to for a good time.
The snappy, crunching
"Heard About Your Band" sounds a little like Sonic
Youth at their most melodic and pokes fun at the
industry: "You were screaming in my ear/ Coked up
asshole/ Waiting for The Liars/ You shared a cab
with Karen O/ Oh oh oh oh oh/ ...You met Electrelane/ Eh eh eh eh eh... I heard
about your band/ Whatever
dude!" The druggy, down-tempo "You Always Have a
Place to Stay" finds Hamilton at his most disturbed, sounding a bit like Daniel
Johnston. "All Night Disco Party" is fueled by a
driving bass line, an angular riff, dance-y hi-hat
slaps and subtle jab at current trends: "It's an all
night disco party: a super nonstop über rocking disco
party!" Give Blood holds 16 tracks, but a few
don't add up to full-length songs. The thrashing,
Black Flag-reminiscent "Cheney" is 11 seconds long,
the stomping, country cut "NY Pie" is less than two
minutes, and the speedy, frustrated "Hi How Are You"
("How do you dress?/ Who are your friends?/ Why
don't you shut the fuck up/ I'm trying to watch the
band") is about 30 seconds long.
Brakes also throw in
a couple of covers: the Johnny Cash/June Carter
duet "Jackson" and the Jesus and Mary Chain's "Sometimes Always." The album
closes
with a slow, ballad-esque "Fell in Love With a
Girl" (not the White Stripes song) which features just Hamilton's muffled croon
atop fragile picks at the acoustic guitar. Give
Blood doesn't care if you like it or not. And
that's precisely why I do. |
