by Chris Alexion, Copyright January 06, 2008, all rights reserved. 337 views
Be sure to check out The Bravery, a modern rock/alt group that hails from New York but sounds deceptively British. They first hooked me with "Time Won't Let Me Go," a well-written single with catchy melodies from their second album, The Sun and the Moon. Their other tracks aren't far behind; the guitar work is tinged with the sounds of U2 and Switchfoot, two of my favorite bands, and frontman Sam Endicott's rhymes echo the same thoughtful veins as Bono and Jon Foreman.
The band's thoughtfulness sets it apart from most mainstream music. Endicott can't stand pop; in one interview he compares viewing typical MTV fare to listening to an air conditioner. The Bravery–maybe due in part to Endicott's degree in psychology–breaks out of these shallow musical molds and digs lyrically below life's surface. Even the band's name, says Endicott, has to do with young people standing tall when faced with today's fears of nothingness and meaninglessness.
Expect a progressive blend of guitar, drums, and electronics. The follow-up single "Believe" is every bit as good as "Time Won't Let Me Go," and "This Is Not the End" merges sad and thoughtful tones. The band isn't afraid to dig into a retro feel in "Every Word Is a Knife in My Ear" and "Tragedy Bound," while "The Ocean" and "Fistful of Sand" rely on captivating melodies.
Now, while the primary role of music is artistic, not philosophical, it's true that art always expresses a worldview, and we can benefit from Endicott here as well. Sam engages difficult questions far removed from most music, especially in tracks like "Believe" and "This Is Not the End." Endicott's lyrics venture into the spiritual; he rejects postmodern meaninglessness, crying out, "I am living just to breathe / And I need something more / To keep on breathing for." Endicott also questions pseudo-scientific materialism: "Tell me, what does it mean to exist? / I am not a scientist; I must believe in more than this, / And I will not accept that everything that's real / Is only what our eyes can see and our hands can feel."
As a rock fan fed up with much of popular music, I can welcome The Bravery's innovative sound. Maybe there's a musical (as well a spiritual) side to Endicott's claim that "Not even Earth can hold us; / Not even life controls us; / Not even the ground can keep us down."
[Note: The Sun and the Moon contains occasional strong language.]
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