The Brutes - Wonderous Punch.
FEBRUARY 22 2011
Album Review
Release Date: March 4, 2011
B (83/100)
The Brutes' debut long-player is a sharp, loud record—full of unabashed, boisterous (if a bit familiar) 21st-century alt-rock.
Music: 16/20
The songs are pretty straightforward alt anthems for the most part, with a bent toward this past decade of leather jacket rock. It feels at times like a cloudy Franz Ferdinand—or a sunny Interpol—and at others like one of those bizarro comic book crossovers—except with musicians instead of superheroes. In this issue, Tom Verlaine meets The Strokes. Lyrics: 14/20
The lyrics themselves fit in solidly with the band's arrangements, and the songs are really quite good, but there's little on the record to blow your mind. Gregg Garvey's is a confident, straight-shot, modern-rock vocal—with an occasional Bowie croon ("Starlet," "Superpowerland")—that flirts with over-theatrical, but is still wholly listenable. Production: 18/20
The album was recorded at the Sound Gallery by Jacob Grun (Me & My Arrow), and mixed by Chris Dorn (The Beatifics). It sounds great, and everything has been mixed and mastered with very crisp quality. A few synth embellishments (including a nifty theremin part) and guest accompanists dot the recording, but string-layering and production value aside, the album itself still comes off as safe, mid-2000s rhythm-rock. Technical Proficiency: 20/20
Wonderous Punch is a technically proficient record. Overall: 15/20
The Brutes are an energetic band that struggles to overcome its influences and present something truly original. They should have no problem filling barstools, but artistically there's some growing to be done—the songs are fine, but the bare spots wear through. What the band needs is a full-bore, neck-grabbing jam; a "hit," somewhere amid their handful of fairly brilliant moments—something perhaps a bit outside their comfort zone. After all, the Brutes seem pretty resolute; I reckon we'll hear something new and interesting from them by year's end.
The songs are pretty straightforward alt anthems for the most part, with a bent toward this past decade of leather jacket rock. It feels at times like a cloudy Franz Ferdinand—or a sunny Interpol—and at others like one of those bizarro comic book crossovers—except with musicians instead of superheroes. In this issue, Tom Verlaine meets The Strokes. Lyrics: 14/20
The lyrics themselves fit in solidly with the band's arrangements, and the songs are really quite good, but there's little on the record to blow your mind. Gregg Garvey's is a confident, straight-shot, modern-rock vocal—with an occasional Bowie croon ("Starlet," "Superpowerland")—that flirts with over-theatrical, but is still wholly listenable. Production: 18/20
The album was recorded at the Sound Gallery by Jacob Grun (Me & My Arrow), and mixed by Chris Dorn (The Beatifics). It sounds great, and everything has been mixed and mastered with very crisp quality. A few synth embellishments (including a nifty theremin part) and guest accompanists dot the recording, but string-layering and production value aside, the album itself still comes off as safe, mid-2000s rhythm-rock. Technical Proficiency: 20/20
Wonderous Punch is a technically proficient record. Overall: 15/20
The Brutes are an energetic band that struggles to overcome its influences and present something truly original. They should have no problem filling barstools, but artistically there's some growing to be done—the songs are fine, but the bare spots wear through. What the band needs is a full-bore, neck-grabbing jam; a "hit," somewhere amid their handful of fairly brilliant moments—something perhaps a bit outside their comfort zone. After all, the Brutes seem pretty resolute; I reckon we'll hear something new and interesting from them by year's end.
The Brutes release Wonderous Punch on Friday, March 4 at Nick & Eddie in Loring Park. Their music is available at TheBrutesMusic.com.