It would be easy to not give Brakes a second chance. The Englishfoursome have all the tics and tendencies that make me want to paintthem with the “British Post-Punk” brush and move along. Spiky guitars?Yep. Pissed of vocals? Check. Record released by Rough Trade?Obviously. But there's something else here that won't let me do awaywith them just yet.Rough Trade
Give Blood can certainly be misconstrued as just another entry into thecurrent crop of British bands mining the sights and sounds of 1980spost-punk and new wave, but there’s a certain genteelness that runsthroughout, a stumbling grace that saves it. “Heard About Your Band”and “I Can’t Stand to Stand Beside You” boil with sneers and barbedhooks. But while these and several other songs dutifully serve theirpurpose as the rockers on the albums, other songs are couched in theslouchy country that groups like Silver Jews have built their careerson. More remarkable is that Brakes are capable of being comfortable ineither guise. Witness their cover of Johnny Cash’s “Jackson,” which inthe hands of pent up vocalist Eamon Hamilton and guest star Liela Moss(of the Duke Spirit) becomes a nervy hoedown.
Meanwhile, “NY Pie” is awide-eyed country jaunt that manages to be charming without beingsickening. While the band does share a member with renowned Englishgroup British Sea Power, Brakes avoids that bands tendency forself-indulgence. Some of the songs here work better then others. Songslike “Cheney” and “Pick Up the Phone” seem like piss-takes if you askme, while genre exercise “All Night Disco Party” finds a lukewarmgroove before the band collectively realize it’s a joke.
For the mostpart though, this album finds a unique niche of hyper-activity and laidback. The album feels less like a record and more like a fun weekendproject. That being said, Brakes aren’t rewriting any rules here, buttheir tasteful and sprite rock will surely find some fans somewhere.
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