Brassy - Got It Made

  by David McNamee

published: 17 / 12 / 2001

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Review

After a string of self-detonating low key singles somewhere at the back end of Britpop’s fallout years not only are Brassy back, but they’ve bolstered up on every conceivable power-up-Jet pac, rocket boosters, twin-laser upgrades, more extra lives than you can shake a hedgehog-with force. It might cram 17 tracks into 40 minutes of music, it might deliver like a shoot-out between the Wu-Tang Clan and Optimus Prime’s Autobots, but dear God, this is fantastic. Muffin hits every cadence with spot-on Sesame Street kid cool, and despite not wanting to mention the Blues Explosion connection because, quite frankly, it’s the least interesting thing about them, you do get the impression that in the Spencer family they’re taught to strut before they can walk. Spitting out rhymes is just an accessory to reading and writing and their ABC’s come courtesy of the Jackson Five. Although they can certainly be accused of replaying old moves, Brassy have the tactics to pump up simple, repeating motifs into sassy mini-anthems. You feel you could leave them locked in a garage with a cotton reel, a lollipop stick and some sticky-backed plastic and they’d come out with a Panzer tank, blazing with go-faster stripes and flashy disco lights. More than that, they’re almost in danger of exposing a previously overlooked depth. ‘Good Times’ electrocutes every come-down fear into an ‘I Will Survive’-type caffeine-bomb. ‘Nervous’ is simply a nerve-shredding shudder, frazzled and sparking off the walls. Fatboy Slim hears this and reconsiders that painting and decorating vacancy in East Hull. Brassy are one of only two live bands in the history of the world I would ever describe with the words ‘shit hot’ and this album isn’t even a quarter of the potential they’re capable of.

Track Listing:-

1 In
2 No Competition
3 Parkside
4 Work It Out
5 That’s The Way
6 L vs S
7 I Can't Wait
8 You Got It
9 Who Stole The Show
10 Play Some D
11 Nervous
12 Good Times
13 Put You Right
14 Micstyle
15 I Gotta Beef
16 B'Cos We Rock
17 B.R.A.S.S.Y.