“Nobody takes chances anymore,” Myk Porter sings on ‘Nobody Dances Anymore’. Which is a very bold statement seeing as though Brandtson have completely changed their sound for ‘Hello, Control’. To be quite honest, the Brandtson of old and the 2006 version may as well be two completely different groups – they sound as far removed from each other as you could imagine. Gone is the band that wrote some very special records on Deep Elm and in its place is a band that uses dance beats to write some very catchy, anthemic tracks. If you’re an old-skool fan of the band, the change may well be very hard to stomach. But I believe it would be unfair to criticise this record just because it’s different. It will alienate older fans, but, taking it for what it is, it’s actually not that bad at all.
I can’t say I’m taken with every song with the new style, but there are some really good songs here. ‘Earthquakes and Sharks‘ is a really, really good song, mixing up a kind of ‘OC-lite’ sound with dance beats in the background. It’s one of those tracks which sounds so much better with the sun shining. Ditto ‘Nobody Dances Anymore’. The upbeat songs work so much better, as the electronica that litters the slower tracks just create a rather depressing sound. There are a few tracks which don’t really go anywhere and sound a little wishy-washy. ‘Tapping The Vain’ doesn’t really seem to go anywhere, using vocal effects rather than samples and beats, while ‘Cold War’ reminds me a bit of Duran Duran.
With such a radical change of sound, Brandtson run the risk of alienating their older fans who will see the move as a blatant attempt to cash in on a new craze. The more open-minded people out there will listen and realise that this isn’t all that bad at all. It’s no masterpiece – far from it – but the desire to do something different and unexpected has, to an extent, paid off. ‘Lie To me’ is a tune anyway, whether you were a fan of the band previously or not. Definitely one of those CDs I’d recommend people check out, if only to see what the inevitable fuss is all about.
www.brandtson.com
The Militia Group
Paul