I've always found Bracket to be a frustrating beast - on the one hand they have all of the ingredients needed to be a huge, huge band, with melodies and vocals to die for, yet over the course of their career I just feel they've never managed to record a consistently brilliant album. 'Requiem', unbelievably the band's first studio album in six years, carries on in the same vein. It's trademark Bracket and if you loved the band from their Fat Wreck days, you will love this too. But at 17 songs it's just too long and I find myself thinking - 'not again...'
To make things ultra confusing, every song starts with 'Warren's Song' and then has a number after it. Although, in true Bracket style, there's no order to the numbers, making it difficult to piece together which song is which all that easily. Forever a reviewer's nightmare, you'll have to forgive me if I get names mixed up! Sound-wise, this is traditionally Bracket and their time away from recording has not altered them a jot. Marty's vocals are as trademark as ever and the band's Beach Boys-esque harmonies are here as normal. To be honest, I've always felt that the harmonies made Bracket standout from the pack and 'Requiem' is no different - while some of the songs here tend to drift along, others (like WS Pt22) sound brilliant with the three-way vocal sound.
There are some great songs on this record. 'Part 19' and 'Part 10' have huge vocal harmonies that hardly any band could recreate, but all too often Bracket are let down by their inability to pull off a huge chorus to complement their vocal talents. There's no song comparable to a 'Talk Show' here and that's to the band's detriment. Talent-wise, there's never been any doubt for me that Bracket have what it takes, but I just feel 17 tracks is too many and ultimately the band don't quite hit the spot. It's a shame, although old-skool fans will probably still welcome this record with open arms.
www.bracketmusic.com
Takeover Records
Paul
