Brakes – Touchdown

Brakes - Touchdown

Having made a giant leap in quality and substance between their first two outings, Brakes slowly etched away at the “side project” tag that taunted them wherever they turned.

Every article and every verbal conversation regarding their music began to sound like a broken record: “Oh yeah, the bloke from British Sea Power and Electric Sof… yeah, I do know them, actually.” Things have improved, but they’re still a bit of a distance away from being their own entity.

With this in mind, Touchdown, their first release on hometown (Brighton) label Fat Cat, has an appropriate title for a band eager to strip away the baggage, wave a hand in the air for our attention and proceed in making its own personal mark on the musical map. Thankfully, it would seem that Eamon Hamilton and co. have landed comfortably in a realm they enjoy exploring and playing around with.

Musically, Touchdown picks up where Beatific Visions left off. If their first album Give Blood represented a baby, kicking and screaming its little self into the world and Beatific Visions the playfully excitable teenager, then Touchdown would seem to be the well-rounded adult. Granted, it takes fewer risks than the last, but it feels like a band more at home its surroundings. Better still, it really works.

While my mentioning of BSP would seem to contradict what I’ve being trying to get at here, it is fair to note that the anthemic nature of Do You Like Rock Music?  may have rubbed off on Hamilton’s song writing, if only a little bit. Opener ‘Two Shocks’ is a slow builder with an imperious tempo and bass line that erupts into familiar territory by the end, while ‘Oh! Forever’ uses gorgeously deep and low piano drones to give a sense of grandeur to its message: “I know it’s you/I know it’s true/Oh! Forever.” This is certainly a tiny step in the direction of stadium rock.

But while this minute glimpse into a bold and beautiful new world for Brakes is more than welcome, equally is their ability to once again produce some of the most compact and satisfying country guitar pop around. The minute and a half that is ‘Do You Feel The Same’ sounds as though its drum and guitar parts were carved together with the combined power of science and love, with every second being made to count.

Meanwhile, ‘Worry About It Later’ provides the kind of shuffling, shimmering country rhythm that coaxes out Hamilton’s equally shuffling, shimmering vocals. Again, it’s a short ditty that encourages extra care with its musicianship, which, in turn, makes us want to listen again and again. The unashamed rock-out riff of ‘Hey Hey’ succeeds in this too, only this time by making us feel sixteen and sunburnt again.

If you’ve heard Brakes before then Touchdown may do absolutely nothing to sway your opinion of them one way or the other, which is no bad thing, particularly if you fell in love with them at Beatific Visions. But, unlike so many other bands out there today, Brakes seem perfectly content with having a great deal of fun playing music together, without a second thought about who wants to come along for the ride. If you do though, please don’t mention their side projects to this reviewer.