Album review: Brakes: 'Touchdown'

BRAKES: 'Touchdown' (Rough Trade)

There's never been anything particularly ordinary about Brakes. Formed by Thomas and Alex White of the Electric Soft Parade when they came upon the considerable talents of vocalist Eamon Hamilton, the outfit has based its currently fairly short-lived career on being nothing short of utterly barking. Debut 'Give Blood' features a six second song, as well as a number of other excitingly brief, rivetingly energetic numbers with barmy lyrics like 'Cheney's 'Cheney, Cheney, Cheney, Cheney, Cheney, Cheney, Cheney/Stop being such a dick!' and 'Hi How Are You's verbal lambasting of those that natter incessantly during gigs. As well as these visceral moments, however, Brakes indulge in unashamed pop too, having produced one of the decade's greatest dancefloor fillers in the - ironic? Who knows? - 'All Night Disco Party', a trend that continued apace into 2006's 'The Beatific Visions', an album that features a track called 'Porcupine or Pineapple' ('Spikey! Spikey!') and a one about 'do[ing] the spring chicken!'

This eccentricity is what has made Brakes such an endearing band, standing out from the crowd of identikit indie starlets who ordinarily adorn the pages of the music press. For better or for worse, however, it has been reigned in on new release 'Touchdown'; while this remains a musically unusual record, Eamon's lyrics are far less abstract, feeling crushed by the weight of personal experience. There are aggressive moments here, replete with the kind of raw, jagged guitar playing that characterises 'Give Blood': 'Why Tell the Truth?' morphs from a lilting strum to an intense rock beast, 'Red Rag' is a practically unlistenable ninety second thrashfest and 'Don't Take Me To Space (Man)' works a filthy Joy Division bassline around a wall of supersonic guitars. Interestingly though, the tracks are thematically bittersweet, entrenched in the melancholia of world-weariness. Eamon sounds withdrawn, rarely allowing his voice to communicate the anger and frustration he more than likely feels. Where once opener 'Two Shocks' would have spat out of the starting block with ferocity, here it slouches, feeling as defeated as its central hook, 'all I grew was disillusioned.'

This intrinsic fatigue does occasionally threaten to negate the power of the record; the sorrowful dirge of 'Oh! Forever', for example, is a particularly difficult listen. However, as with all Brakes records, there is enough stylistic diversity to keep things afloat. When Eamon unleashes his acoustic and gets down to demonstrating his country roots, 'Touchdown' feels a touch (hah! See what I did there?) more euphoric. Sure, 'Worry About it Later' is certainly no 'NY Pie'; it isn't going to send your spirit soaring high over the buildings in your neighbourhood, awash with joy, but it is the most satisfying moment on the album, its bittersweet ode to a much loved individual striking a potent chord. 'Your heart's been skipping like a jumping bean' is the closest Eamon gets to his previously carefree self, a wonderfully stark, fantastically ridiculous simile to make you grin from ear to ear.

'Touchdown' is a distinctly weird record but then, would we really expect anything else from Brakes? It confounds expectations by largely abandoning the uplifting eccentricity of their earlier material, choosing instead to marry their off-puttingly raw sound to a series of rather melancholic lyrics that reveal the band's world-weariness. For the most part, it works quite well, although the album does seem to be teetering on the edge, constantly running the risk of being so downbeat that it loses the listener's attention. Still, a valiant effort, and if not Brakes' best work, it's still no bloody BrokeNCYDE. (7/10)