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I am a shoegazer. You all know that. You all know that my musical
diet has long consisted of copious amounts of Catherine Wheel,
Ride, My Bloody Valentine, Slowdive, and
the like. It should be absolutely no surprise to you then, that
I love thebrotherkite. This band has managed to capture
the essence of the early 90's scene and merge it bombastically
with the more indie elements of most of their contemporaries.
Hard edged shoegaze, or emo-gaze-core, are things that I would
most certainly refer to this music as. Edgey, deliberate, orchestrated
and noisy, thebrotherkite's debut record is a sonic wonderland.
"Goodnight, Goodnight, Goodnight" starts the album
off in true wall-of-sound shoegazing ecstasy, very reminiscent
of early Ride. The vocals are prominent, while being washed out
to the point of genre acceptability. The My Bloody Valentine-ishness
kicks in fully on "The Music Box". The song differs
in tone from those glory days of Kevin Shields, but contains
many of the same sonic traits that endeared a generation of listeners
to his work. The evidently slowing guitars and steady drumbeats
pay homage to MBV, without being derivative or contrived. The
more modern integration begins to creep in on "Simply Say
My Name". The music trades a bit of its noisy character for
the chiming, monotonous guitars of indie rock. Which I don't mean
to sound like a bad thing- the song is full of tranquil tensions
that build slowly to a keyboard-heavy groove that leads back into
the more sonic territory that this band seems to do so well. "Porcelain"
makes my soul yearn for the days of Chapterhouse and Adorable.
It is a fast paced race thru territory that seems immediately
familiar, while remaining very much its own sound. That is the
key to thebrotherkite. The music is strangely familiar, even though
you've never heard it before, but is indisputably its own monster-
with its own horns and gnashing teeth. Recognizable, yet completely
individual.
…And do yourself a favor. Listen to this record LOUD.
I'm pretty sure that's the way it is supposed to be heard. All
the good music is.
-Embo Blake
Track listing:
1. Goodnight, Goodnight, Goodnight
2. The Music Box
3. Mere Appreciation
4. Simply Say My Name
5. Porcelain
6. Death Ray
7. The Blackout
8. The Way That You Came Down
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