Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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20 of 21 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Brighton indie hi-jinks, 8 Jul 2005
For anyone that knows their stuff about Brighton indie bands, Brakes are a bona fide supergroup, as members of much-lauded groups British Sea Power, the Electric Soft Parade and the Tenderfoot are all included under the Brakes banner. Thankfully, like Canada's supergroups The New Pornographers and Broken Social Scene, the music created by throwing this talent together is rather good indeed. 'Give Blood' packs 16 tracks into 29 minutes and was recorded in a week, obviously meaning that Brakes' policy is keeping things short 'n' sweet. Eamon, the hat-wearing keyboardist from British Sea Power, has proven himself to be a rather fantastic lyricist. 'Give Blood''s finest tracks are deliciously spiteful mini-rants in which he gives himself about a minute to shout at whatever he's pissed off at. 'Heard About Your Band', for example, attacks a pretentious musician whose claims to fame are sharing a taxi with Karen O and meeting Electrelane, topped off by the best "whatever, dude!" you're ever likely to hear. 'Hi, How Are You' bluntly tells a talkative concert-goer, "won't you shut the fuck up, I'm trying to watch the band". Elsewhere, 'Pick Up The Phone' and 'Cheney' are simply stabs of indie-punk noise, the latter lasting only 5 seconds. It's not all shouty angriness, though. 'NY Pie' and 'Jackson' are jaunty alt.country with none of the aggressiveness that characterises most of the rest of the songs, and the closing 'Fell In Love With A Girl' (thankfully not a take on the White Stripes song of the same name) is a gentle, sweet, indie sway-along. The album's centrepiece, however, is the brilliant recent single 'All Night Disco Party', a simplistic but insanely catchy and infectious ditty that pretty much comes with a guarantee to make even the most shoe-gazingly, feet-shufflingly shy indie kid shake their skinny rump. It's the highlight of a thrilling and very impressive record that's perfect for soundtracking the summer ahead.
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6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Top Notch, 25 Aug 2005
A brilliant album, definatly one of the best albums of the year. They have the best vocals if ever heard in a band and a brilliant collaboration between british sea power and electric soft parade. The songs are short and sweet so its very easy to listen to again and again.
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3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Well worth checking out..., 27 Jan 2006
By A Customer
Quirky, cool, frequently quite comical and occasionally very savage - "Give Blood" by Brakes is a snappish but ultimately charming album that mostly manages to transend the unfortunate stigma that's attached to all albums created by bands whose members are all offically 'on loan' from their proper day jobs in other groups. Whilst playing in British Sea Power, Eamon Hamilton clearly felt he needed a direct catalist in which he could eventually marry his rants and observations to these punkish, melodic Pixies inspired arrangements. Hamilton has a brilliantly wicked eye and a contempt for the slippery inner workings of the music industry. His lyrics occasionally set there targets not on the big acts and major record labels, but the more interesting, small scale, mundane realities of being in a band that's just not earning much of a wage, but still doing it for the love. At one point in the album her snarls "you said the girl in Sleater-Kinney, you said you couldn't understand, how it was that she continued to play, when she only earned 10 grand PA". Nothing on "Give Blood" has a chance to outstay it's welcome. The albums most obvious political song lasts an abrupt 7 seconds, but hits its target head on. During it's brief 30 minute running time it turns its hand to punk, dance and even a couple of hill-billy country inspired ditties. It's an eclectic mix but an interesting and constantly enjoyable one. Rumour has it Hamilton has now left British Sea Power to focus on Brakes full time. On the evidence of "Give Blood" I'd say that's a sensible move.
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