The Bravery [ENHANCED]

The Bravery

Product Details

• Audio CD (March 29, 2005)
• Original Release Date: March 29, 2005
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Enhanced
• Label: Island
• ASIN: B0007QJ1LQ
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (139 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #22,898 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Forget for a moment the rumors that suggest the lead singer of this New York five-piece used to play in a ska outfit called, yes, Skabba the Hut. It's a given that a band that so brazenly apes the Strokes' scratchy vocals, Interpol's deep bass grooves and the Killers' shimmering new wave melodies is hardly concerned about being written off as unfashionably fashionable. In two years time the Bravery could very well be making robotic Afro-Cuban funk albums, or whatever other hipster style happens to be troubling the charts at the time, and it would suit them just fine. Right now, the group has the neo-post-punk thing nailed, complete with warm-fuzzy tunes like "An Honest Mistake" and "Unconditional," that, if nothing else, should at least manage lure a few more bodies onto the dance-floor. -- Aidin Vaziri

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

30 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Sounds like the Killers, who sound like..., March 30, 2005

By	Irony Value "Irony Value" (BAYOU) - See all my reviews

...everybody else this year. I was talking to a hot rock'n'roll chick of a certain age (totally married, as am I) the other night, both of us expressing guarded pleasure in the fact that it sounds like 1981 on all the most "cutting edge" stations. I expressed my affection for Interpol, and she asked "aren't they the ones who sound like Gang of Four?" I told her I thought she was thinking of Franz Ferdinand. Interpol sounds like Joy Division. The Strokes sound like the Buzzcocks. The Killers sound like (early) Duran Duran. LCD Soundsystem (usually) sound like The Fall. The Moving Units (often) sound like New Order. New Order is even starting to sound like New Order again, except when they sound like Joy Division.

And the Bravery? Sound like the Killers, and the singer sounds rather way too much like Robert Smith (of The Cure, in case you're 19 or living under a rock), which is a good thing since I wonder how much longer Mr. Smith will be able to manage it hiimself. Despite that--and the fact that track two of The Bravery sounds almost actionably close to track two on The Killers' debut, Hot Fuss, as if it were like a pastiche or something... :o)--it's tons of fun.

While it has nothing in my mind to rival the sheer, jump-around-your-attic-in-your-boxers-playing-air-guitar quality of say, Mr. Brightside or Somebody Told Me (by The Killers, just in case you're 40 or living under a rock), I can see myself growing to like the album as a whole more than Hot Fuss, as I find it less pretentious, forced, and calculated.

RECOMMENDED, but really kids, if you don't have any music by the artists who created this sound the first time around, go buy some; it's all remastered and sounds great all over again. Yes, dance music is ALLOWED to have guitars AND live drums. No, there is no way you can have bass guitar as your lead instrument and a vocalist who sounds like Ian Curtis and then complain when people say you sound like Joy Division. And maybe I'm only so excited by the post-punk/synthpop revival because it sounds like what music sounded like when I first started to care. There are worse reasons to like something. Crotchety old guy in his early thirties lecture over. Buy this. And The Killers. And Interpol. And Franz Ferdinand. Etc.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A breath of fresh air... it's the 80's all over again!, June 27, 2005

By	Paul Allaer (Cincinnati) - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

I have read and heard about the Bravery being nothing more than a lesser-quality of the Killers, and I don't get it. Sure, there is a vague similarity of sound, but so what? I don't remember that when the Seattle grunge scene was big, everybody was saying "this band is a second rate version of that band". The fact is that many bands today are (re)discovering the glam 70s (see Louis XIV) and the new wave early 80s (see the Killers, the Bravery), just to name these. Have we become such music snobs that we will leave that stand in the way of enjoying good music? I sure hope not.

"The Bravery" (11 tracks, 37 min.) is the New York band's debut album, and starts off with the totally irresitable (and lead off single) "An Honest Mistake". I was afraid that radio was gonna play it to death, but it hasn't happened yet (knock on wood). Other great hum-alongs include "Swollen Summer", "Unconditional" (which is the second single, released in the UK), and "Public Service Announcement".

There is no great "artistic statement" on this album, just a bunch of fun songs, and done well at that. At 37 min., the album blitzes by in Strokes-like fashion, and you'll fing yourself wanting to play it again.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Riding The New Wave, April 13, 2005

By	J. Persh (West Bloomfield, MI United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Depending on how you feel about the latest trend in alternative music I guess you can credit/blame The Strokes for starting a new wave revival of sorts. However you feel about, its quite apparent that the sound has arrived.

The Bravery are another in a recent wave of NYC new wave revivalists proceeded by The Strokes, Interpol, Ambulance LTD and a handful of UK acts and a band from Vegas.

Scoring more points for execution than originality The Bravery have definitely listened to a few New Order records in their day as witnessed in "An Honest Mistake", the lead track. However, when the songs are this good its easier to forgive the lack of originality and just enjoy the show.

"Unconditional" & "Give In" are also highlights on a record that's pretty solid from start to finish.

I'm not sure where The Bravery will be in 10 years or how long this new wave revival will last but as for the here and now in April 05 they sound pretty fresh and vibrant.