Brooders: Self-Titled Mini-LP Review & tour dates.

Rhiannon Boden
Jan 22, 2017
3 min read

Words: Rhiannon Boden

Brooders are a band characterised by their momentum. Though they formed only a scant three years ago their evolution has already carried them far from where they started, from a duo to a three-piece, from members scattered across the midlands and the south to a band firmly embedded in the north, with even a name - Hunny - that they had to outgrow to progress.

It is a momentum echoed in every facet of their career, in their relentless tour schedule that has seen them perform with the likes of I Divide and Fizzy Blood, in the release of the Hunny EP and the recording of much more within the same year, and of course in the music itself. However, it would not be unreasonable to call their self-titled mini-LP (available for purchase on the 11th of February) a culmination of sorts; if all the momentum has been building to a crescendo, this is undoubtedly it.

Things kick off with Thrill Killer, a fast-paced, riff-driven machine that effortlessly sets the tone for things to come. The vocals are brash and venomous, but the balance is struck in such a way that the melody is not lost, carried along instead by a driving bassline and rolling drums. The song comes crashing to an abrupt halt that pushes the listener headlong into the next song, and allows the coolly nonchalant Cling, with its deliciously arrogant lyrics and slow build in intensity, to take its full effect.

Say Your Prayers is the first track on the record to move away from the coy, more tongue-in-cheek lyrics and abandons its previous warm, rounded-out sound. Instead it is slow, almost desolate, so that when the chorus hits it does so with a raw power and scope previously unseen. It is one of the more measured offerings, the lyrics are given room to breathe and the instrumentation is simple, but it’s all the more effective for it - a perfect palate cleanser moving into the second half.

Haze is quintessential Brooders, a sleazy, groove-laden romp that refuses to let up from beginning to end. It is easy to see why it garnered the attention it did when the music video was released, if not the most nuanced tracks on the LP it’s certainly one of the most unrelenting, and perhaps the best representation of the trio’s live chops. It fades out in a cacophony of screeching guitars, refusing to die, and undoubtedly leaves a lasting impression.

However, it is towards the end that the record really finds its feet. Blue Eyed Prince is massive, lulling the listener into a false sense of security only to smash any pre-conceived notions by the two minute mark, building into an anthemic if strangely eerie conclusion; if this self-titled debut should be viewed as a new iteration of Brooders’ sound, this is it at its most fully realised. This delicate mix of softness and swagger characterises closing track Melancholy too, an unapologetically brutal piece with a mournful edge that makes it utterly compelling.

In short, Brooders’ self-titled debut is a perfect representation of everywhere they have been as a band, and a sure indication of how much further they can go. And, if it is anything to go by, they will undoubtedly be going pretty damn far.

RattleRating: 9/10

Pre-order the self titled mini album HERE.