Leeds' hotly-tipped quartet BRODY made a convincing case for hard rock's continuing relevance against the odds with their previous self-titled EP and have worked like demons to gain critical and commercial ground in the 18 months or so since.
And the good news is that its' belated follow up "Torn From A Warm Place" is at least the equal - and in some ways the superior relation of that first EP - with the band making the trip down to New Rising studios in the wilds of Essex to record with respected producer Mark Daghorn.
Indeed, the EP's first two tracks both suggest that Brody's early promise is being fully realised. The sound's massive, full-on and effective, with guitarist Tom Allen weighing in with searing riffs, vocalist Matthew Duggan sounding as plaintive as hell and the whole band pumped up to disciplined max on opener "Fallout." It quickly draws you in and is arguably the best thing your reviewer's heard from them to date.
"Brand New Day" ain't no slouch, neither: angsty, impressively recorded, with gargantuan riffs, stealth guitar breaks and cloaked in atmosphere, it rears up to a memorable chorus and shows Brody have got heavier and more complex without sacrificing their edge.
The EP briefly blots its' copybook for me with the title track. Not that it's less than impressive, but the grinding riff emblems are too generic for my liking, as is the overwrought, apocalyptic theme, and - despite some effective lulls into contrasting pastoral atmosphere and some undeniably brilliant drumming - it's all a bit too Muse-esque in execution to truly come off.
|
No such problem with the closing "Miles Away", though, which starts with slow, spoooked and phased guitar but soon cranks up into something menacing and memorable with more than a touch of Alice In Chains about it.
"Torn From A Warm Place" again finds Brody in tremendous form. My one reservation would be that there's less variation and distinctly less subtlety than on their debut, but that's more than made up for by the improved sound quality, confidence of the overall performance and the fact they sound truly distinctive these days. As a rule I'd be slow to recommend this kinda thing, but Brody make intense heavy rock sound like it has a future and can happily separate the new from the Nu. Nice work, lads.
|
