Brackish - Firm but Fair

  by Adrian Janes

published: 17 / 7 / 2018

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Review

Something of a Bristol supergroup, drawn from members of This Is The Kit, Phantom Limb, Zun Zun Egui and Port Erin, this third album from the Brackish displays a melodic streak, strong musicianship and a developed mutual understanding between the players. There is a passing resemblance to Can in their working blend of composition and improvisation, and specifically the quieter passages on ‘Beermoth’, but unlike the former the Brackish are decidedly a rock band: even on this track the more lyrical parts are sandwiched by fuzzy guitar and an insistent, repetitive rhythm. The ability to move adroitly from loud to soft and slow to fast in various permutations characterises the album. In this light the best-realised track is ‘By Monday’ where, from the early interplay between lyrical guitar and subtle bass, the quartet build to one climax, abruptly change to a much softer feel, then rise up again, lead guitar wailing and a collective head of steam building until it would be little surprise to see vapour rising from the disc. There is freshness and energy the Brackish’s music, but its roots and something of their sound can still be traced back to the late 1960s and early 1970s, and the greater freedom rock musicians came to demand in that time. In this it reflected the well-established practice of jazz players, and there are certainly parts here where a jazz element also tinges the music: ‘Firm but Fair’ itself, which evokes the jazz-rock Jeff Beck of ‘Blow by Blow’, or some of Matt Jones’ dexterous drumming on ‘Crypal’, for example. Despite qualities like its intricate guitarwork, ‘Crypal’ is also a track which suggests the hazards of improvisation, as overall it comes across as a group of only loosely-connected passages rather than something satisfyingly organic, while the hammered out ending of ‘Bango’s Christmas’ feels like it’s probably more fun to play than to listen to. Yet these are lapses rather than something typical. Following ‘Bango’s Christmas’, ‘Birdman’, the final track, brings together some of the band’s best aspects, guitars, bass and drums locking together in a beautifully understated way and cut by some penetrating reverbed guitar before subsiding to the original cool feel. The Brackish are reputedly something to behold live, so maybe some of ‘Firm but Fair’ will work better in that context. But as a studio work there’s certainly enough here to justify repeat plays and deeper listening.

Track Listing:-

1 Firm But Fair
2 Beermoth
3 Crypal
4 Birdman
5 Bango's Xmas
6 By Monday

Band Links:-

https://en-gb.facebook.com/TheBrackish
https://thebrackish.bandcamp.com/relea

Label Links:-

https://www.facebook.com/stolenbodyrec
https://twitter.com/Stolenbodyrecs
https://www.youtube.com/user/thebadjok
https://stolenbodyrecords.co.uk/
https://www.instagram.com/stolenbodyre