The Bravery - The Bravery

Genre rock Publisher Island Records External Links Official Website Island Records

Rock fans are drowning in new rock bands these days. Its getting harder and harder to differentiate one from the other. All of 'em have really sweet looking hair, pretty boy faces, and vintage clothing. They all sound of the past, yet also of the moment. Every single goddamn one of them has a nifty new video announcing them to the world. Each is on a big time label who are in turn pushing them for all their worth. All in the hopes that they score a new Franz Ferdinand or Modest Mouse jackpot.

On the one hand I desperately want to champion The Bravery, if only because their hearts are obviously in the right place. On the other, I cannot lie about the fact that I think that they are simply another group of Johnny Come Latelies in a scene choking on Johnnies.

The Bravery's problem isn't that they're not talented, or that they cannot write some catchy tunes, its that they're a singles band in an album's age. If "An Honest Mistake" and one or two of the other decent songs on the album were released as B-Sides they'd be the fucking belle of the ball right now. But as this is 2005 we have to deal with an entire album. And the other ten songs only serve to ensure this band a short lifespan (they've only been together a year as it is).

The strongest argument against the band, other than the fact that no song besides "An Honest Mistake" truly distinguishes itself, is the remarkable similarity they share with other recent "It" bands at times. Especially vocally. Nowhere is this more astonishingly evident than on "Public Service Announcement" and "The Ring Song." Singer Sam Endicott might as well be channeling Hot Hot Heat's Steve Bays and The Strokes' Julian Casablancas, that's how far up both of their asses he sounds.

There's nothing necessarily awful about The Bravery and a lack of distinction doesn't seem to work against most of the music industry, so I wish them the best of luck. And Island Records is pushing the album in all the big stores at a reduced price I gather, so its not like you would feel too ripped off if you didn't end up liking their debut. But is good enough really good enough anymore? Was it ever?