The Bravery - London ULU - 24/4/07
4/5
By: Keri Kennedy
Almost a year ago to this day, the Bravery waved goodbye to endless touring to record their second LP, and by the look of them now, they've left the make-up and hairspray firmly in the past. Along with that quiff, they've done away with a few other things and taken on board what seems to be an air of seriousness. Yep, you read that correctly. Seriousness.
A Bravery gig was often car crash viewing, with five over excited and pissed up boys who were partying through their first 18 months of fame, it could go either way, often resulting in nudity, or utter chaos. No such debauchery tonight, dressed more Futureheads than Rocky Horror; it seems to take a while for them to get in the mood, though musically they're a better band for it.
Opening with their last single, 'Fearless', they punctuated old favourites with new material from forthcoming LP 'The Sun and the Moon'. While there's a distinct similarity to the old sound, the new tracks blow most of the weaker oldies away. 'Believe' combines driving guitars, pipe organ effects and an anthemic chorus to create what should have been the perfect comeback single. It's quite obviously The Bravery sound with Sam Endicott's unmistakeable urgent wail, but it's miles ahead of anything they've done before and renders the disco infused 'PSA' that follows pretty weak in comparison.
Ploughing through the set with little banter, 'Tyrant' is the usual heart-wrenching ballad while 'This Is Not The End' is swinging, stomping and more harmonious with vocals from the whole band. 'Angelina', though, a twee and flimsy tune is a low point, one song that should have been left behind with the eyeliner. However, new single 'Time Won't Let Me Go', builds from a slow start to a sing-along hit. 'Honest Mistake' returns us to scenes of the Bravery old; while Dirt and Sam jump into the uncontrollable crowd, we're reminded of what The Bravery are best at - pure unadulterated pop.
More follows with the not so catchily titled 'Every Word From Your Mouth Is A Knife In My Ear', the classic disco beat is evident, combined with Elastica-esque guitar and two-tone synths, it's almost on a par with 'Honest Mistake'. 'Bad Sun' doesn't quite keep up the pace, with it's whistling intro, Hawaiian and acoustic guitars, it gets a bit lost in the set sandwiched between 'Knife...' and 'Unconditional', the latter taking us back again to the more scuzzy, sleazy Bravery sound.
Closing with 'No Brakes', the track that takes full responsibility for any Bravery/Cure comparisons, a sweaty band exit from a pretty uneventful gig. That isn't a bad thing though, admittedly they seemed to be having less fun than usual, but the taste of things to come is far sweeter than any amount of drunken discord. The new material has choruses that will be rattling round your head all summer; 'The Sun And The Moon' may prove to gain The Bravery the acclaim they deserve.
Your Feedback
Login to post your comment