The Bravery is another one of these so-called 80's revivalist bands, heavy on the electronic synth-dance-rock style. The vocals are reminiscent of the Strokes (especially "The Ring Song"), somewhat scratchy and detached, but the first band that I thought of when listening to this album was The Killers, unsurprisingly. And of course, there is a lot of older influence, Duran Duran and Depeche Mode being two that came to my mind.
The first time I listened to this album, I was pleasantly surprised and found it very catchy. After I listened to it a few times, it started to become a bit more annoying. It's really, REALLY pop-y and there's very little variety between any of the songs, so it can get a bit repetitive and obnoxious.
That being said, there are still some decent tracks on here, and it's a fun and upbeat album. The first single, "An Honest Mistake", is out, and people seem to be digging it. I certainly did... this one of of the tracks where they sound more like the Killers, which isn't a bad thing. "Fearless" features a really cool mixture of drums and electronic-ness, though it's a bit over repetitive. "Tyrant" was one of my initial favorites, since they actually feature the singing a bit more and leave the beats more in the background (after the opening). I never got into "Swollen Summer", because the opening sounded waaaaay to much like The Donnas to me and I got scared away, but I think some people might like it. "Out of Line" is also well done, I thought, the vocals mesh much better with the beats than with many of the other songs. The bonus track, "Hot Pursuit", is ultra-80's, and therefore ultra-enjoyable.
So yeah, this is an entertaining album, but it's not particularly great in any way. There does seem to be some potential here though, which is pretty much exactly what I thought about The Killers' album... c'mon guys, get it together.
The verdict: 6.5/10
The first time I listened to this album, I was pleasantly surprised and found it very catchy. After I listened to it a few times, it started to become a bit more annoying. It's really, REALLY pop-y and there's very little variety between any of the songs, so it can get a bit repetitive and obnoxious.
That being said, there are still some decent tracks on here, and it's a fun and upbeat album. The first single, "An Honest Mistake", is out, and people seem to be digging it. I certainly did... this one of of the tracks where they sound more like the Killers, which isn't a bad thing. "Fearless" features a really cool mixture of drums and electronic-ness, though it's a bit over repetitive. "Tyrant" was one of my initial favorites, since they actually feature the singing a bit more and leave the beats more in the background (after the opening). I never got into "Swollen Summer", because the opening sounded waaaaay to much like The Donnas to me and I got scared away, but I think some people might like it. "Out of Line" is also well done, I thought, the vocals mesh much better with the beats than with many of the other songs. The bonus track, "Hot Pursuit", is ultra-80's, and therefore ultra-enjoyable.
So yeah, this is an entertaining album, but it's not particularly great in any way. There does seem to be some potential here though, which is pretty much exactly what I thought about The Killers' album... c'mon guys, get it together.
The verdict: 6.5/10