Brigade – Will Be Will Be

Originally released through Pledge Music a little while ago, Brigade’s third full-length album « Will Be Will Be » has now been made available to everyone digitally. The band is a four-piece whose music has evolved from the chuggy sound in their first album and the poppier sound of their second into this new offering which throws elements from across their career into the pot. It comes out sporting beefy riffs and anthemic melodies in equal doses.

‘200 Scratches’ is an incredibly solid track to open the album with and showcases everything Brigade are about within three or so minutes – the vocals leap and dive from section to section with grace and quality, the drums are fast-paced, the guitar is crunchy when it needs to be and subtle when it doesn’t and the bass has a lot of kick to it. Juxtaposing several elated and high pitched choruses are several short and grungy instrumentals which are bound to quicken your pulse. The second track ‘A Heinous Crime with Draconian Consequences’ then takes the album down a heavier road with its deep-bassed main bass hook and moody atmosphere, before track three, ‘Eden’, takes proceedings along a much more poppy route complete with a stress-free guitar riff and a catchy chorus with subtle harmonies thrown in. Much of the tracks that follow fit neatly into a more mainstream pop rock sound and each is just as likeable as the last. ‘Laughter Lines’ serves as the album’s ballad track, and pleases very much with its spacey, laid back vibe. There’s even some piano and strings during the more emotional parts of the tune. ‘Find Your Own Way Home’ closes the album with a fairly robust gang vocal section made for crowds to sing at gigs, backed by progressively building instrumentation that gathers everything to fever pitch and then drops it all at once to create a good, striking finish to the album.

Every performance from this four piece is extremely enjoyable and though the vocals sound a little strained in some of the higher notes; it’s altogether solid and a pleasure to listen to. The album doesn’t do anything big or special – it’s standard rock fare, but what it does, it does incredibly well. There are heavy chunks to satisfy your metal side and plenty of poppier moments to balance the package out. At times it does feel a little messy because there isn’t much leverage between the heavier and softer sides of « Will Be Will Be » but it’s not nearly enough to lessen the blow of some of these monstrously catchy tunes.

I think one of the best qualities of this album is that it doesn’t try to be anything more than it should be – Brigade have done this before and my impression here is that they know what they want from their music. « Will Be Will Be »is a solid collection of rock tunes with more than enough sweet melodies and riffs to keep you coming back to it every now and then.

Tracklist :

1. « 200 Scratches »
2. « A Heinous Crime With Draconian Consequences »
3. « Eden »
4. « Adieu »
5. « The Beating »
6. « From Nothing Something Comes »
7. « Sting Sting »
8. « Laughter Lines »
9. « It’s A Mess (If It Ain’t, It’ll Do Till A Mess Gets Here) »
10. « Tiny Pieces »
11. « Find Your Own Way Home »

Glen Lewis