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Couple of pics of Brakes in Nashville by re.becca (Tom & Eamon) Photos: Eamon — Tom & Alex at the Bestival website. Tom & Eamon by cat mcpie. gigwise.com It’s the music we’re interested in here, and for Gigwise it began with Brakes in the Rock’n’Roll Tent on Friday night. Something of a Brighton supergroup, led by Eamon from BSP and also featuring members of ESP and The Tenderfoot, they boast sufficient gig experience – individual and collective – to be a stunning live proposition. Admittedly, tardiness of arrival necessitated a ruthless itinerary that didn’t allow for much hanging around, but for the few tracks Gigwise caught – including album opener Ring A Ding Ding and the superbly caustic Heard About Your Band – they delivered their trademark super-snappy country punk with aplomb.blog.myspace.com/huwstephens Yesterday I got back from Bestival, and it was a lot of fun, I was djing at the Rock n Roll stage, sponsored by Jack Daniels, and spent most of the weekend drinking said liquor. Highlights from Bestival were Brakes (who’s new songs were great - can’t wait for new album) tweeasfuck.livejournal.com Final band of the festival was Brakes, the only band I can think of for whom requests for songs sound like people shouting random insults (eg. ‘Shut The Fuck Up’). Their songs are so short they managed to play a few twice on request. They’re great fun, Brakes, and utterly bonkers (”I fell in love with a girl, she was 67 inches tall…”) and a very fun and bouncing-around way to finish off the bands with. Truck have a photo of Brakes at Øya Festival in Norway. indiecredential.com Brakes cannot fail in these circumstances. How can the casual observer not be won over by the likes of “All Night Disco Party”, “Ring A Ding Ding Ding” and the magnificent “Porcupine Or Pineapple?”? One of the joys of this performance was the reaction to the likes of “Hi, How Are You” or “Cheney”, which got played twice in a row, the second time a “Leicester Remix”, from the many watching who had never heard the band before. Brakes should really have played the Main Stage. thedailygrowl.blogspot.com Brakes were certainly one of the highlights of Summer Sundae... they ranged from Sex Pistol like pop songs to comical country tunes... what I did see was well performed and was enough to keep me well interested despite the fact it is very easy to dose off in the comfortable balcony seats. This is only my first festival so I have nothing to compare it to but even I could tell this band could keep even some of the most snobbish rock lovers entertained. angryape.com Former British Sea Power keyboardist, Eamon Hamilton and his band Brakes (incorporating Tom and Alex White from ESP and Marc Beatty from Tenderfoot) blast through a plethora of sharp sub 90 second, 70s rock propelled sizzlers. Their whizzing nature is epitomised by 'Pick Up The Phone' that whizzes by the ears of eager listeners and disappears again in the blink of an eye. The punk spiked new song 'Porcupine or Pineapple' shows the band's new direction, as they utilise hounding guitars to propel Eamon's hoarse vocals, delivering mystical and eccentric lyrics. Chris in Brighton has photos. "They played a fantastic set, were the tightest and best sounding I have seen them" tonight-we-fly.livejournal.com What can you possibly say about Brakes (10/10)? Astronomically on form, and unbeatable in every way. onelosthousemate.blogspot.com Brakes - Possibly the best band of saturday. Played a stormer, and one song twice as its that short. Yep, did all the ridiculous songs including Pick up the phone. blog.myspace.com/redcid Mad and schizophrenic indie rock next from Brakes next... A set which seemed to mostly include songs that just 'ended' as if they were just playing free samples of each song - plus a couple of 20 second one-lyric punk-shout songs although hidden in amongst all this horsing around were one or two great rock tunes. blog.myspace.com/zertrudetrout "CHENEY CHENEY CHENEY CHENEY CHENEY CHENEY CHENEY STOP BEING SUCH A DICK" Brakes performed this song twice, the guys in the tent next door to us performed it all Saturday night, much to my appreciation. Brakes were, in my humble opinion, the best band of the weekend. blog.myspace.com/1roses Highlights included: Brakes, who have songs that last only 10 seconds but are loud enough to cause internal haemmoraging and are Frank Black-worryingly yelpy. blog.myspace.com/robertjessetelford This year's Art Brut-style blast of brilliance was given by Brakes. Despite having a 30-minute set and only a 29-minute album (plus a couple of new tracks) to play with, I still wanted them to play for another half an hour. I shouted "again" when they played Cheney. Eamon (frontman): "we're not playing it again... someone count us in then." Genius. A genuinely thrilling band, I can't wait for the next album. weddingpresent.livejournal.com "very very good they were as usual and another of the weekends highlights" sweepingthenation.blogspot.com ... a band who'd work really well outdoors are, yes, indoors. We've just realised that of the bands we really wanted to see today three we've already seen full sets by at Truck three weeks ago. At least it means easy comparisons can be drawn, although in the case of Brakes the question "what were they like?" can be answered "they're Brakes, how can they be anything other than tremendous?" A blistering opening of Ring A Ding Ding, Hi How Are You, Heard About Your Band and Pick Up The Phone - four songs in about five minutes - ensures the hall is packed out for a set that understandably leans heavier on the album than that at Truck but is completely unstinting in every other way, from Tom White's power leaps to the traditional casual attendee-confuser of Cheney, which they play twice, after the bloke behind us had asked "was that everything? Was that it?" after the first one. See the photos Brakes at Dour photos: By tuffghost21 and The Slow Wonder Brakes at Summercase photos: By Deaf Sound and Fluzo Brakes @ Summercase (a bit of it that translated) One always approaches with certain mistrust this type of group formed with members of other groups, in this case Electric Soft Parade and Tenderfoot, so that you fear that the egos in the end do not contribute anything reseñable. It is not the case, the debut of Brakes is one of the best albums released last year and there they were for confirming all the expectations. Their Folk-Punk (draws from) the best sources (Violent Femmes, Pixies…) and on the stage they knew to transmit the chaos and the madness that they have on record. This one has 4 photos on it (click where it says volgende foto) Brakes @ Dour Some of the translation: Brakes is one of the few bands that in an hour can play forty songs. With members from British Sea Power, The Tenderfoot and Electric Soft Parade they make paramount short indierockliedjes (indie rock songs?) ... Some numbers last even less then a half minute. The song Cheney clocked off on six seconds ... The tent was not yet half filled. The absentees were wrong. With their mix of punk, powerpop and country, the Britons convinced. Brakes at the Furia Festival (about the band Cherubs) …a good surprise but completely outshined an hour later by the Brakes gig despite Tom White’s technical issues and his filthy mood. Efficient on the record “I can’t stand...” and “All night disco party” both take another dimension tonight amongst very short songs played at full speed while some unreleased stuff surely does not lack interest... soundofviolence.net (translation by Ghostchild) musicpictures.com has new Brakes photos taken in Brighton 19.5.06 (log in to see them larger, it's free to register) Out The Other has some Photos and a Review of Brakes live in Nashville Tennessee. While Brakes were in Tennessee, they couldn't resist putting on a couple of shows. Here's the photos: Instore and Secret Show Mouse over the pics for another one. Hi:Fi South: Photos Some nice ones of Tom. There's also a Review at gigwise: "...First up in the live tent for Gigwise is the Brakes, who alternate between you wanting to love them for their wanton approach to not caring, and hate them for their occasional arrogance. For example their guitarist stalks on with a cigarette dangling out the side of his mouth in what can only be described as rock star bravado, and yet the simplicity of his guitar chords and riffs overtakes the tracks... The rest of the set is punctuated by a blend of rock 'n' roll and country back to basics three minute tracks featuring lyrics like "God came down and said I'm fucking bored" and "Porcupine or Pineapple". Do the Spring Chicken is also a funky little number with a simple approach" There's a few pics from Hi:Fi North too. Hi:Fi South: Photos and Review "...New track Wasn’t Built to Last is announced by a gleeful Eamon. It’s pure hillbilly punk and Alex White’s drumming and Marc Beatty on bass turn it into a great punk hillbilly track. If the rest of the album is like this I’m getting it!" Hi:Fi South It is almost unbearable to see a band of Brakes’ quality playing in front of 50 or so people, but alas this is the case as once again the early acts are disregarded in favour of more sleep, more food, or more booze. Nevertheless Brakes’ talent is unarguable, with a fresh take on acoustic rock. Certainly theirs is a sound that deserves to be played in the sun, and not in an empty tent to a handful of fans. They played: Cheney, All Night Disco Party, Heard About Your Band, What's In It For Me? If I Should Die Tonight, Porcupine or Pineapple, Do the Spring Chicken, N Y Pie, Comma Comma Comma Full Stop. There's an interview from the session on the GREAT ESCAPE 2006 page. (click pic for larger) Brakes + The 1990s + Actress Hands @ Mean Fiddler 25 April @ musicomh.com (click link to read) "The thing about supergroups is that the less talented are forced out to pasture, mournfully looking for a side-project of their own to entertain them, hoping that the whole super thing doesn't work out and their former partners will come crawling back. On this evidence though, those left over from ESP and BSP may as well think about forming their own (sub?) group: because it looks like Brakes are here to stay. Great stuff" Me: ESP are still going, Matt and Tom are in Restlesslist And Alex is in Actress Hands subba-cultcha.com Euro disco, Euro Disco, Euro Disco, Burn the party down, eat the party, manipulate it with vocoders and cheap Casio keyboards… Taunt it, Flick it, Hurt it… Love it! icWales "...as damn near a perfect a slice of indie dance as you're likely to hear this year. A religiously insistent beat thunders underneath a pounding rhythm" HEN Lifestyle The gay electro pop that your mum likes (not mine, I'm afraid) has been done to death by the Scissor Sisters and frankly this sounds too much like the Cheeky Girls on testosterone for it to be believable. However, the Herbert Remix is much more of a treat and would make a cool chart track were it not so lyrically starved. boomkat.com I’m not certain what the original version of this track sounds like – but here we’re treated to two remixes primed for the floor. The first is from everyone’s favourite political plunderer Matthew Herbet and features some rather worrying helium vocals over a chipper disco beat - would work a treat sandwiched between Abba and Errorsmith if you ever get the chance..! The flipside features pounding beats, a looped vocal and some angular guitars - I guess there’s nowt else left to do but party? normanrecords.com Whaaat the hell Rough Trade have re-released an old Brakes single I dunno. Must've been on a shitting advert I suppose. All Night Disco Party has been remixed by Graham Sutton of Bark Psychosis. I really couldn't give a toss about this. The FC Kahuna mix makes me wanna punch holes in the wall with boredom. culturedeluxe.com Where were you the first time round? The Brighton supergroups first single is unleashed on us again, and a bloody good single it is. This is a fine slice of indie-pop that does the business of making you nod your head in time on the verses, then on the chorus sending 50 billion volts to your feet in an urge to make a twisted body impression of how you would look playing the guitar to this. Great shizzle. dogmanet.org The Graham Sutton remix of Brighton super-group Brakes All Night Disco Party is an electro-tinged dancefloor winner with the best faux-ending we've heard in a while. The Kahuna mix is dirty electronica, whilst the Herbert Remix is like living inside a psychedelic Pacman game gone wrong. Über-rocking, for sure. IndieLondon gleefully checks out the cream of the week’s singles: Disco Party remix - they specialise in delivering catchy blasts of dizzy rock-pop that could easily filter over into the dark scene. All Night Disco Party marks a re-release in slightly made over form, thanks to a dazzling remix that merely plays up the strengths of this cracking super-group. Taken from the debut album Give Blood, it’s an energetic, dance-floor filler that is constructed around some rapid but catchy hooks and a cavalier style that is sure to win them new admirers on the second time of asking. Xfm are currently championing the song on most of their shows. ireland.com We raved about this super, non-stop über-rocking anthem last summer, and since then the tune has partied its way around the world. Here's a mix by Graham Sutton that retains the rock elements while still keeping it dancefloor friendly. soundsxp.com (click link to read, it's very long) "Eamon Hamilton adopts a curiously German-sounding accent on three remixes which twist and mangle the original track with varying results". They also say the FC Kahuna mix is "arguably superior" and "there’s only a certain amount of times you can hear the title phrase repeated ad infinitum in Eamon’s mechanical tones across these tracks before you go utterly crackers" music-news.com The excellent stomping anthem taken from last years Give Blood album is a Blur-esque Girls and Boys moment for the here and now. The irresistible disco four to the floor beat is aided and abetted by a raucous guitar explosion and vocals to match. If only one song was allowed to be called disco punk it would have to be this. Eamon, ex BSP has now put all his musical eggs in the Brakes basket. Listen to Give Blood and you’ll understand his decision. All Night Disco Party, remixed by Graham Sutton, is proof enough that Brakes will put their foot down and take off – but if you need a bit more convincing, invest in Give Blood. chartsingles.net To spark a bit of buzz into their profile the Brakes are to release three remixes of their only top 75 UK chart entry, All Night Disco Party. We are graced with three remixes, one from Graham Sutton, one from Kahuna and one from Herbet. Graham Sutton's remix focuses on the guitar, which during the intro sounds very "Blur". It also seems lacks the charisma of the other two remixes. Kahuna's remix is the pick of the bunch here, this one focuses on the drums with an endogenous toe-tapping beat (you can play it at BBC Collective, see the review below) Whilst Graham's and Kahuna's remixes are not too dis-similar in style, Herbet's remix takes us to another field of delight. It's a looper changing between the 'it's an all night disco party' and 'east- west, north- south, left-right' and lots of 'it's an all night' thrown in with a quirky vocal effect added that gives the remix the icing on the cake. BBC Collective (you can play the Kahuna remix) As we've noted and ruminated upon a number of times recently, if you want to get ahead in the indie game these days you want to get yourself a dance music remix. The latest guitar-wielding hopefuls to take their wares to Boogietown are the Brakes - tightly wound new wave popstrels led by Eamon Hamilton, ex-keyboardist with BSP. To give it its due, their newly reissued All Night Disco Party wasn't exactly lacking in disco oomph the first time around, but there's no denying that the swift-footed new remixes from Kahuna and the ever-inventive Herbert do breathe new life into the song. Skip the Graham Sutton remix, though: it's got mobile-DJ written all over it. The Mirror "...Roll out the lurex jumpsuit and let the glitter ball swing" rock-city.co.uk reviews the single (not sure if they know it's a remix though) Ever heard of a dance track with plenty of guitar rifts and drums blasting out? Or have you ever heard of an Indie track with Dance beats and the continuous lines over and over again? So what do you call it ‘Indie Dance’ is that even a name? No doubt some bright spark will come up with ‘Brit Dance’... The music itself is great and as I have said not quite Dance and not quite Indie or Rock (click link to read it all) Playlouder It's a good review (click link & scroll down to read it) There's some live Brakes pics from Feb at 3VOOR12 Another Form Of Relief on Brakes (click link to read it all) They bring a sound that falls somewhere in between country and punk, a combination that I didn’t think was possible, but is somehow achieved here. The album is a shambolic mess (16 songs in less than 30 minutes), but I don’t mean that in a bad way at all. They fly through their songs at breakneck pace, not bothering with any of the pondering nonsense so many other bands would have seen fit to include. Brakes on NME's Best New Bands Showcase 2006 CD: There's also ads for The Great Escape (Brakes & ESP play) and Summer Sundae (Brakes play) Give Blood review at blogs.mercurynews.com (scroll down) "Four of the songs on Give Blood clock in at less than a minute, but as a big fan told me at their Austin show, "That's all it took" Brakes “All night disco party” (Herbert remix) Two remixes for the price of one, not another dancefloor fillers but ace enough not to give up that over played songs from last year. First one is as dumb as the original but more punk, as butchered by that crazy Japanese guys from Polysics. Herbert again as his best provides a very different version of a minor hit, with a lot of imagination, replacing subtly guitars with click and cuts. spaces.msn.com/oohablog (Brakes supporting Editors) Main support were Brighton supergroup Brakes, Electric Soft Parade fronted by Eamon from British Sea Power, with some guy who owns a recording studio on bass (the best band description I ever read) A non-stop uber rocking disco party! @ radio-ed1t.livejournal.com. "The real question however is; is their anti-folk country punk any good? I'll let you be the judge of that. All Night Disco Party is perhaps the most accessible of their songs. It's long enough to have some structure, it's obscurely playful, you can potentially dance to it, and if you're the type of person who loves anything with the word disco in it, you'll think it's great :)" sayanythingsyndrome.blogspot.com "The Brakes include Eamon, who left BSP, and two members of The ESP. The lyrics are fun... a good old stick it to the indie geeks trying to get it on but only if you fit the critea" Disco Party remix review The mesmerizing accompaniment provided by members of ESP wanders off from a solid rock base to add some spacey quirkiness... Eamon does not seem to be looking back, as he confidently strides into new territory with the help from a seriously talented backing outfit. Tivoli, Utrecht, 13 Feb "Brakes joined The Editors for the second time tonight. Four “next door” guys who are suprisingly diverse in their music. They have a kind of Punkish sound, sometimes with the shortness of tracks and anger like the old days of The Dead Kennedy’s. Which I adore! But sometimes they also have some “country” vibe that seems a bit odd to me. On the other hand they aren’t afraid of some elektro influences either. And that doesn’t sound bad at all! They look kinda nervous, even make some little honest mistakes, but they get a decent applause from the audience. And that’s always a good sign!" Times Astoria review "...it fell to Brakes, the indie supergroup from Brighton featuring the brothers Tom and Alex White, formerly of the (STILL OF THE!) Electric Soft Parade, and the singer Eamon Hamilton, previously with BSP, to smooth the way for the headliners. A band with a droll sense of humour and an unnaturally low boredom threshold, Brakes navigated their way round an alternative pop universe in which dodgy disco tracks and fake country songs were interspersed with bundles of spiky, art-rock numbers..." Newcastle Academy review "In between the short sharp shouty tracks were a mixture of seventies punk, The Clash and Roxy Music stand out as influences, and one or two country based tunes, a combination which made for a performance that for those who weren't familiar with this band had a surprise round every corner" Blog review Effenaar, 21-2-2006. A few words from the translation: "Live they sound fortunately much better than the album (read: spicier and more sturdily) Their music shoots straight through all genres... really good for a half hours entertainment" Editors & Brakes: An Incendiary road trip - Tivoli, Utrecht - 13/02/2006 & Effen “It looks like its all dollar now Richard.” Eamon Hamilton, Late of BSP, now solely of Brakes had, earlier in the day presented me with this rather dry comment on his band’s rapid rise from the amiable “suck it and see” outfit of last year’s festivals to the full blown main act in waiting role that they find themselves in now. That status will surely be their fate once these here support tours with Belle and Sebastian and Editors are completed. Not that Brakes could ever be considered remotely corporate or compliant, either as a unit or individually. Brakes Eurosonic review @ Virtual Festivals (Jan 06) UK highlights include Brakes, who celebrate singer Eamon Hamilton's recent pledge to the band following his departure from BSP, with a charged set that rattles and rolls through raspy tales of farmyard drug taking, industry bullshit, and monkeys that make Eamon horny. How such a Pixies-ripping vocal talent was ever dampened behind a keyboard remains an illusive mystery. Birmingham Academy 3rd March Chris from Editors on stage with Brakes Editors messing round on stage in costume with Brakes Blog review "...we were treated to the delightfully random lead support, Brakes. Their songs were typically 2-minute long ideas, sometimes country, sometimes techno-rock... mixed with 10 second salvoes..." Brakes - 12/02/06 - Vooruit I put it in a translator, a few words: "...must through sustained delay directly from the bus on the stage (they went straight onstage from the bus?) With the snow yet at their shoes they played a half hour amusing - sometimes awful - numbers that change between punk, rock and country" Birmingham Academy 3rd March Newcastle Academy 2nd March Eindhoven 21/2/2006 De Vooruit Belgium 12/2/06 Brakes warming up for B&S, and stunning the crowds with their loud music and short songs at the Liverpool Academy and Sheffield Octagon 09/02/06 Stockholm 2006 More pics here and here Dublin Setlist Botanique 13 Jan 06 More pics: Oxford Zodiac Oct 05 -- Metropolis 2005 -- Rough Trade Instore (no date) Blog review 13-02-2006: A little word about the gig by The Editors last night in Vooruit Gent. Supporting band Brakes who started playing around 20h15 were something special. I think they were trying to break the record of most songs being played in half an hour... Cambridge Corn Exchange, 2nd Feb First up was the impressive Brakes. Their debut album last year was one of my highlights - an enthusiastic mix of garage punk, rock and a twist of country with songs detailing snorting cocaine, annoying London-types at gigs and falling in love with a woman 67 inches tall. They seem an antidote to Belle & Sebastian’s' twee tales and not all the crowd seem to get them, but those that do are enthusiastic. Considering their 16 track album is just under 30 minutes long, they play most of it including a bonus Camper Van Beethoven cover. Finishing with the extravagant "Comma comma comma full stop" a full 8 seconds of unadulterated joy, they do it twice as Eamon missed a chord at the end... Sheffield Octagon, 9 Feb A traffic accident on the M1 halted this reviewer’s passage up to Sheffield and as a result this review nearly never came to fruition. Yet so it was that someone forgetting to put on their brakes forced us to miss what could well have been a startling performance by Brakes, with their set ending ten seconds after we step through the door. From the response of the audience who hadn’t been left stuck in a tailback desperate for a pee, they played a blinder. Maybe next time, eh? Octagon, Sheffield, 9th Feb "...We arrived at The Octagon a bit after 8pm, about half way through support band Brakes’ set. They’re pretty darn cool. Lots of short and sharp punky songs but also so nice melodic numbers" Photo Gallery: Brakes @ Corn Exchange 2nd Feb Colston Hall, Bristol "...Really enjoyed their abrupt punky sound, punctuated by little bursts of pop and country. On occasions they reminded me of Wire with Black Francis on lead vocals, but that could only be a good thing! A nice long set too - early starts and respectable finish times at the Colston Hall always seem to persuade bands to pack lots into their sets, and they finished with an exemplary Comma, Comma, Comma, Full Stop" Manchester Ritz 30th Jan "...an excellent blast of thrashy punk, and, like many of their songs played tonight, it was very short and to the point. Brakes tackle a number of different styles with confidence and aplomb. There were a couple of country songs, some rock ‘n’ roll, more thrash, slabs of glacial indie rock and covers of Camper van Beethoven (no, not “Take The Skinheads Bowling”) and Jesus And Mary Chain. A couple of songs weighed in at under 7 seconds. Lead singer Eamon Hamilton has recently left BSP to go full time with Brakes; a decision that, on this showing, has my full support" Brakes / Belle & Sebastian Brighton Dome 03/02/06 Easing further into my seat, I need not stand as Brakes came to the stage, I merely clapped and whooped like those around me, happy to enjoy the show as I would a good book. Not to say that the band were boring, formed from members of BSP amongst others, they ploughed through their own material and that of Neil Young with verve and confidence exciting a knowing crowd and readying them for the main attraction. Brakes, Sheffield Octagon, 09/02/06 @ Fake DIY: Brakes set about belting folk rock ditties that range from twenty second blasts to four minute lilting rolls, bringing an early smile to the slowly defrosting crowd, ending with a double rendition of 'Comma Comma Comma Fullstop' (or ,,,. to friends); their seeming nonchalance is truly winning. Belle And Sebastian + Brakes, 30 Jan @ The Ritz, Manchester “It's with relief and regret that I'm leaving British Sea Power, but the double bubble has burst. Last year's punishing dual band schedule took it's toll and for the sake of my health I made the choice to concentrate on Brakes.” So said Eamon Hamilton in a press release a couple of weeks ago, since which Brakes have managed to play in four countries with almost as many gigs planned for February as there are days in the month. Wouldn’t it be easier to get a proper job? But Eamon lives for his music and has perfected the art of distilling all the best things about the last 20 years of indie-pop into delicious bite-sized chunks, and for this he should be celebrated. Kicking off with “Hi How Are You” – a song “about watching quiet bands” (and telling people who talk during them to “shut the fuck up”) should endear Brakes instantly to the more sensitive wing of the Belle & Sebastian audience, even if its minute length and abrupt ending take a few of them by surprise. Almost the entire album’s squeezed into a support slot, a delightful journey through jangly pop, bouncy country, thrashy punk and The Jesus And Mary Chain, with all four Brakes looking nothing less than gloriously happy just to be doing this, even if they are crammed into the three square feet of the stage not covered by the headliners’ equipment. Saving the genius pop singles “Ring-a-Ding-Ding” and “All Night Disco Party” for the end of the set, most of the audience are smiling as well by the time they introduce the last song “Comma Comma Comma Full Stop”. The tuning and preparation for the track lasts a good thirty seconds, with guitarist Tom grinning wildly at his drumming brother Alex, then the song itself just ten seconds. Always leave them wanting more. Belle And Sebastian + Brakes @ Manchester Ritz 29th Jan Super groups, by their nature, can be frivolous projects designed to show off and give the impression that the members of them, are only there to cash in on their reputation. However, when such an outfit is made up of the prominent parts of bands in their creative prime; BSP, ESP and Tenderfoot then it is a mouth-watering prospect. The set by Brakes was a snappy affair with some of the numbers being so short that it was music’s equivalent of being tangoed. ‘Training’ (?) and ‘N Y Pie’ were cases in point, no sooner had the thundering riff and throaty vocals registered in your ear, than they had disappeared. The band’s ability to carry a tune was also aptly demonstrated in the frenetic rocked up; ‘Ring A Ding, Ding’ that weighed in at a mammoth (well, for them anyway) two minutes, with the other longer tracks taking on a tingling country feel to give spice and authenticity to a snazzy set. Brakes @ Les Inrocks at soundofviolence.net (rough translation) The room is still hot when Brakes go onstage. Formed by Tom and Alex White of ESP, Eamon Hamilton formerly of BSP and of Marc Beatty of The Tenderfoot, the Brighton based quartet tonight gave their first Parisian show. The folk-punk of Brakes creates wonders: the cynical «Heard About Your Band» to the most conventional «NY Pie», the sound remains always immediate and rough. The bulk of songs from Give Blood are played tonight, overall faithful to the sound of the album. Eamon's vocal on «Ring A Ding Ding» evokes Frank Black on speed... He returns alone to play «Fell In Love With A Girl» before being rejoined by the whole band on «Jackson» an excellent resumption of Johnny Cash, which closes the concert under latitudes more country (with a more country feeling?) Brakes @ Eurosonic at lesinrocks.com (rough translation) Return to the Muziekschool for Brakes. A group composed from members of ESP, BSP and The Tenderfoot cannot disappoint us. If the nasal voice of the singer annoys initially, the chain of unstoppable power songs quickly sweeps away this impression. Perplexed at first, the public is also quickly conquered... In forty five minutes, Brakes songwriting talent is evident, going from folk to electro pop, while passing by incandescent scathing punk attacks... Supported by a rhythm section more than square (tight?) the sound of Brakes is of a seizing clearness. Brakes @ Eurosonic at 3VOOR12 With a photo of Eamon (rough translation) Brakes consists of members of BSP and ESP. But their music has no ties with either, they prove tonight in quite a positive manner. The rock numbers follow each other in quick tempo. Some songs have no single structure... Singer Eamon Hamilton reveals himself as the diabolic little brother of Michael Stipe ...as the rude nephews of The Undertones. Let that new album come soon. For there will come a day that Brakes break through. The one question is when. News @ Brakes website As many of you may already know, Eamon has now left British Sea Power to pursue Brakes full time. An official statement from the desk of EH has been issued and reads... "It's with relief and regret that I'm leaving Sea Power, but the double bubble has burst. Last year's punishing duel band schedule took it's toll and for the sake of my health I made the choice to concentrate on Brakes. BSP have given me some of the best memories I have and I will always cherish them. We remain close friends and colleagues". Eamon BSP keyboardist Eamon Hamilton has quit the group to pursue his frontman dreams with rival group Brakes... (I never saw them as rivals) He started the band as a side project in 2002, and despite BSP's recent chart success, he has decided to concentrate on Brakes contactmusic.com NME.com announces: British Sea Power member quits He's going to be a full-time Brake. saltywater.co.uk the British Sea Power fansite, reports "Eamon has left BSP to concentrate on his other band, Brakes". From the official BSP newsletter "Due to the ongoing success of his other band, Brakes, BSP keyboardist Eamon has now left BSP to pursue Brakes glory full-time. All remains fully amicable between the five men of BSP past and present. Further, it is not unlikely that Eamon will return for the BSP headlining slot at Glastonbury 2007. In the meantime we all wish him well. Brakes are on tour with The Editors and Belle & Sebastian through January, February and March" (more info) (It's strange but Brakes haven't been a "side project" to me for a long time, since way before ESP got signed to Truck, they were the band I clung to in desolate times...) MORE BRAKES REVIEWS |