Brooders - Brooders

  by Adrian Janes

published: 17 / 3 / 2017

Label: Brooders
Format: CDS

intro

Debut mini-album from Leeds-based Brooders has its roots in 1990s rock but is infused with a fresh energy and passion

Based in Leeds, ‘A Northern Nirvana’ wouldn’t be a bad soundbite to describe Brooders. But this isn’t just because of some resemblances in the trio’s musical power and Adam Bairstow’s vocals; it’s also down to the level of invention they display that elevates this record above superficially similar bands, just as Nirvana transcended grunge. Following the potent, if basic, hard rock of opener ‘Thrill Killer’, ‘Cling’ begins with a plangent guitar phrase and is a more considered song all round, Bairstow’s versatile voice at first measured and cool, but as the music grows in venom taking on shades of Cobain at his most frenzied to match lyrics like ”I will break you down/And I will watch you drown” before its abrupt end. This thrilling sense of dynamics is again evident on ‘Say Your Prayers’, where an initial drum pattern that suggests Bowie’s ‘Five Years’, coupled with limpid guitar and effective harmonies, give way to a band in full throttle and a singer who sounds as if he’s being throttled. Before it’s over, the song moves again between stark verse and strident chorus, capped by an expansive guitar break, all of this being accomplished in four minutes. ‘Haze’, previously a single in its own right, comes trailing clouds of grunge glory, but in comparison to most of these songs is surprisingly average, albeit possessed of typical energy and a yobbishly catchy chorus. It’s the final two songs which confirm Brooders as a band to watch out for. They have already shown they can handle rock as if they were 1990s veterans rather than being born then. ‘Blue Eyed Prince’, however, hits another level, the initial sadness of Bairstow’s singing (“Let the fires of Hell decide my fate”) reflected in his ethereal guitar before Liam Naylor’s drums and Adam Speare’s bass weigh in to stoke those fires, as the track moves through rueful reflection to raw pain. After a reverbed guitar intro, ‘Melancholy’ seamlessly shifts from setting a mood that matches the title, to rage against a condition where ”There’s many people I’d rather be”. At its heart is an extended but crafted instrumental break, with a gradual build-up of restrained playing towards a guitar and vocal outpouring of fiery intensity. Brooders are a young band so it might be appropriate to call them promising, except that with this mini album, so assured and with barely a wasted note, they are already moving beyond promise to fulfilment.

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