Bravestation: Signs Of The Civilized

Bravestation, photo courtesy of Nick Law, Led Astray

Canadian four-piece band Bravestation have released a new single, Signs Of The Civilized, which is now available as a free download along with two remixes of the original single.

This Canadian band, whose name sounds like it could be the name of a CGI-packed Jerry Bruckheimer action film starring a pumped up Gerard Butler, hail from Toronto and play self-described ‘quirky tribal pop tunes’.

It’s not a bad summary. Within about two seconds of the track starting, you know you’re not in for your run-of-the-mill indie rock fair – for starters, it kicks off with Eighties ballad drumming and guitar pluckings that Toto would be proud of. But instead of dissolving into a mess of rolled up blazers and mullets, the funk that roots the track firmly in the modern-day kicks in, as do the quirky vocals.

A little Yeasayer, a little MGMT – but calmer and cooler – the track is instantly catchy and addictive, evoking a pleasingly dreamy kind of atmosphere.

You can find out more on the guys’ Facebook page and @Bravestation Twitter account. In the meantime, have a listen for yourself:

Brand Spanking New: Eureka Stockade Album Review

Eureka Stockade's album cover; rather more chilling than their music

Cambridge; famed for punting, quaint old buildings, and some very intellectual looking students wandering about the place.

Perhaps Cambridge-based indie-rock band Eureka Stockade will be added to the list. Band members Andy Brown, Rob Toulson, Nathan Jones and Paul Richards released their first self-titled album through Cracking Tunes Records on December 6.

Despite their fairly modest composition of, in their words, “four scruffy musicians, a couple of guitars and a rhythm section”, their music is a lot more polished.

Eureka Stockade; Andy, Rob, Nathan and Paul, the 'four scruffy musicians'

The album is a pleasant mix that crosses several genre boundaries; rock, folk, acoustic, with nods to some huge acts that no doubt bear a considerable influence on the band’s work. For instance, tracks All Alone and Heroes Fall has some great vocal work that has echoes of R.E.M‘s Michael Stipe, whereas Violence is much more punchy, as the title suggests, and is definitely reminiscent of Manic Street Preachers.

There is a good variation of tempo and atmosphere within the album, which features quieter moments; Without You is laid back and folky, and Sharks takes it down a gear further, with an evocative and raw combination of forlorn vocals with a gentle piano background, played by Kelly Lambert – just one of the guest performers to appear on the album.

It’s a strong first album that, granted, will probably not gain a cult indie following, or a Mercury Music Award as the tracks are clearly geared for the mainstream, but that’s where the money is, right?

Eureka Stockade’s album is available on Bandcamp.

Review. To Bury A Ghost, ‘The Hurt Kingdom’

To Bury A Ghost – The Hurt Kingdom EP cover

To Bury A Ghost, a band that has been described by The Fly as “epic, symphonic and reminiscent of Yndi Halda‘ are releasing their EP ‘The Hurt Kingdom’ on December 6 as a limited edition CD and digital download through Bandcamp.

Hailing from the East Midlands, the trio are comprised of Jonathon Stolber, Rupert Boddington and Marc Bransgrove, who all met by chance and decided to get a band together. The result is pretty striking.

The four-track EP features songs Birthday, Coming Up For Air, Jaws of Love and Beginning Is The End.

 

To Bury A Ghost. It all got a bit moody when they realised there were only 98 red balloons...

Roughly three seconds after pressing the ‘play’ button, you are hit by Stolber’s strong, haunting falsetto vocals that bear a striking similarity to that of Muse‘s Matt Bellamy and Radiohead‘s Thom Yorke; two musical legends who are known for their vocal style.

 

I was a little worried that I was going to listen to a bad imitation of the two, but, to my relief  To Bury A Ghost are doing something very different. With a bit of post-rock and a great variation in tone and atmosphere, the vocals combine to make some really dark brooding moments.

My highlights from the EP are the sinister moments in Birthday, which also incorporates a nice mix of violins and piano and demonstrates how the band are able to seamlessly incorporate several changes in atmosphere and tempo.

To Bury A Ghost. They like to make sure they catch the previews.

Coming Up For Air has some awesome low grinding guitars and tribal drums which sound pretty menacing and give a good contrast to the vocals.

 

It is track Beginning Is The End that probably earned the band’s comparison with Yndi Halda, and to an extent 65daysofstatic; in that it is purely instrumental. It is certainly lighter that your average 65dos piece, but arguably just as atmospheric, which is no mean feat.

All in all, it is a confident, polished EP, especially considering the fact that it is being self-released. I’d be intrigued to see what these guys could do in a whole album.

To keep up to date on what the guys are up to, follow them on Twitter or join their Facebook group.