The Bravery: album reviews and ratings

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Reviews & Recommendations

	The Bravery

Artist Listing:

S - Z

Line-up:
Crooner Sam Endicott - Vocals, programming
John Conway - Keyboards
Michael Zakarin - Guitars
Mike H - Bass
Anthony Burulcich - Drums

"The Cure has been popping up in a lot of strange places lately. Robert Smith’s schizo wail can be heard in any Killers song, and now his face is plastered morose on every member of The Bravery. In many cases, this could be considered a bad thing, but since The Cure is probably the best thing to happen to the most criticized decade in music, there isn’t really anything to worry about. That’s what The Bravery is here to prove.
The Bravery masks conventional music norms behind mathematical synth beats and vocals that Morrissey has practically copyrighted. New-wave is coming back in a way that recollects the 80s in their prime, and The Bravery has taken everything good about the decade’s music and blended it into one accessible new wave smoothie. The vocals are a cross between Morrissey and Robert Smith, while the guitars and synthesizers scream Killers.
(...) The Bravery treads the same well worn path as bands like The Smiths and The Cure but manages to avoid tripping on its roots by adding a unique personality. If new-wave has to come back, than it should be taking notes from these guys. "

-- Mike Affholder, Delusions of Adequacy, 3/05

The Bravery Discography - Album / CD Reviews

¼ 2005: The Bravery
"Who would’ve thought 10 years ago the world would become enraptured with bands sighting influences that hail from the fashion-tragic decade, the dreaded ‘80’s? Keyboards. Big hair. Eyeliner. Songs loaded with musical opulence. What next – shoulder pads? Luckily enough for The Bravery all these things are back. (...) Their songs have all the required elements that other popular bands like The Killers and Franz Ferdinand have conquered the world with: funky bass lines, frantic keyboards, up-beat drums, slashing guitar progressions and vocals torn between seduction and frustration. But mainly an unadulterated love of writing pure pop records that the rockers of the world can nod their heads to and the more energetic and excitable among us can dance to. (...) Unconditional has all the frenetic guitar energy the band can muster backed by a thumping big beat and a vocal delivered like it’s under real pressure. The album’s party-feel is continued by the sharply cut Give In which does offer up something a little grittier for those not afraid to get their hands dirty. The undoubted highlight of the album, though, is its opener, An Honest Mistake. This track combines the best of what the band do, all in one song. An anthemic beginning of drums and keys, followed by Michael Zakarin’s drifting guitar line, which add a ghostly atmosphere to the juiced-up-on-steroids rhythm section burning away in the engine room.This is a fun album but lacks any real depth or sense of experience or drama. Purely from a musical perspective, it’s engaging and has an electric vibrancy to it. But try to go beyond the more obvious superficial plusses the band has, there’s very little going on under the surface. Let’s hope the band takes their time to find their own voice."

-- jofixi, fasterlouder.com.au, 5/05

¾ 2007: The Sun & the Moon
Tracklisting: 1. Intro 2. Believe 3. This Is Not The End 4. Every Word Is A Knife In My Ear 5. Bad Sun 6. Time Won't Let Me Go 7. Tragedy Bound 8. Fistful Of Sand 9. Angelina 10. Split Me Wide Open 11. Above And Below 12. The Ocean

"The Killers' proteges are back with their latest release, 'The Sun and the Moon'. Many bands come back from a hiatus to find that their genre is in shambles, or gone, as a whole; and this, unfortunately happened to The Bravery. With the New Wave revivalism in full swing, they stumbled out of the gate with their self-titled debut, and gained a small fanbase that praised everything they did. When they returned to music this year, they found New Wave revivalism hanging on by a string; while The Killers' even had dubbed down the New Wave sound with their release 'Sam's Town', so The Bravery dropped a lot of their synthesizers and keyboards with their latest release and picked up a guitar. But is that a good thing? Taking ideas from The Smiths, The Killers, and U2, The Bravery patched together this pitiful attempt at an album. The problem with music is that there's not many bands who can be unique. This band dropped New Wave almost as a whole, and now blend it with typical mainstream rock. While their debut was not all that good, they managed to be a little bit unique and inventive. Since there wasn't too many bands that went to the New Wave revivalism, The Bravery and The Killers stood out on their own, but now they sound like everybody else. They aren't at the stage in their career where they can make music that makes them happy; they still have to please the radio, but in their case, it may have dropped their credibility, and talent. (...) Summary: 'The Sun and the Moon' is a terrible attempt from The Bravery to comeback from the remains of the new wave revivalism; completely mindless, boring, standard mainstream rock with Endicott's vocals worse than ever."

-- tribestros, sputnikmusic.com, 06/07

2009: Stir The Blood
Tracklisting: 1. Adored 2. Song For Jacob 3. Slow Poison 4. Hatefuck 5. I Am Your Skin 6. She's So Bendable 7. The Spectator 8. I Have Seen The Future 9. Red Hands And White Knuckles 10. Jack-O-Lantern Man 11. Sugar Pill

Release date: Dec 1, 2009

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Recommended Links:

The Bravery.com