Letting The Music Do The Talking
Generally speaking having a sibling in an already established band is going to have its pay offs and as such you'd expect certain benefits would have befallen Brigade, after all lead singer Will Simpson has this added luxury. Then you find out who he is actually related to; Charlie Simpson of Busted fame and most recently Fightstar, a guy who has taken so many beatings by the music press he must be wondering what the hell he's ever done. Needless to say Brigade aren't really going to reap any benefits from being associated to a man who is deemed almost a pariah in music circles and as such they have to simply let their music do the talking, thankfully something that does actually pay off for them on debut album 'Lights'.
Atmospheric opener 'Magneto' is reminiscent of Blink 182 in the latter days of their career when their prank filled work had given way to meaningfully constructed nuggets of musically competent rock. Grungy guitars and drums combine to give the track a menacing edge before emoesque lyrics flow through emotionally charged vocals with a dark undercurrent lurking beneath a pop rawk surface. 'Emergency' on the other hand subtly starts simply with Will Simpson's vocals accompanied by an acoustic guitar that soon step aside to make room for full pop rock.
Indeed Brigade refuse to comply to one genre throughout the album and yet every track seems to be moulded around a basic rock frame work with hints of indie, emo, pop and grunge all rearing their heads at certain intervals. With so many styles competing for attention the album should be a mass of incoherent noise but it never falls into this trap. Tracks flow into one another effortlessly, displaying a maturity and musical understanding way beyond Brigade's years.
A dead cert to ride the wave of the recent emo revival, 'Go Slow' boasts sing along melancholy addled lyrics coupled with an up tempo pop rock style. The track to insure mainstream crossover and to win the hearts of emo kids the length and breadth of Britain, 'Go Slow' should definitely get Brigade noticed for all the right reasons.
If 'Go Slow' is 'Emo Brigade' than album closer 'The Hits And The Scrapes' is most definitely 'Experimental Brigade'. Echo backed vocals merge with soothing instrumentals to give a peaceful intriguing edge to the track as it works in complete contrast with the rest of the album but still manages to find its place.
'Lights' is not going to appeal to everyone and Brigade are not destined to win over rock purists who are going to detest every single note played. Instead this is an album which will attract a very distinct following, a following who find pop sickingly bland but who like their rock with a side helping of emotion and not aggression addled screaming. Brigade are tailor made to fit the bill and debut album 'Lights' will prove that you don't need family connections to make it.