Burning Brides - Hang Love (2007)
There I was, sitting in the local coffee house, drinking my regular cup of tea and hanging out with my friend, urban explorer and fellow music-aficionado, Alex.
It was the week before the Thanksgiving pseudo-break at the university, and not a whole lot was planned for it. I glanced over by the cash register, and the beginning of my Thanksgiving break was planned (well other than that damned isotopes take-home exam, but this is a blog about rock music, and I'm sure none of you care about thermochronology). Over by the register at the coffee house, was a poster advertising a show for the following week in a little hole in the wall club headlined by Helmet. For $10.
Ok, at this point, the little voice that represents my long-term memory gently reminds that "You fucking love Helmet!" Anyway, after calming down a bit, collecting my thoughts, and explaining who Helmet was and what type of music they play to Alex, our upcoming Tuesday night was planned.
But this isn't about Helmet...
The big musical 'find' and 'surprise' of the evening was the band that played right before Helmet: the Burning Brides. At the instant they started playing, its was a wall of sound filled with blazing hard rock guitar riffs and noodles, absolutely tight and creative rhythm section work, and vocal stylings often like a mix between Iggy Pop, Kurt Cobain, and Saturday Night Live-era Jim Belushi rolling around on the stage yelling into the microphone, but a voice that can also hold its own in death rock circles. Add in the constant onstage head-banging, moshing, and general flailing of limbs of the three flannel-shirt and converse-shoe clad band members, and the all-around energy of a Stooges, Ramones, or Who concert. The Burning Brides came to play at full-capacity, and there was not a point in their set that they failed in doing so. It was, without a doubt, one of the best representations of what rock 'n' roll band should be that I have ever witnessed.
And their latest album, Hang Love (2007), does not disappoint for those who have seen them live as well. The wall of sound is preserved beautifully on the LP, and the heavy guitar riffs and all-around tight performances are plentiful from the beginning of track one to the last second of the album. The album also has a great dark texture, and full, broad, 3-dimensional sound throughout.
And for those of you who unfortunately have not attended a Burning Brides show, the album is very adequate for provoking living room head-banging and moshing. If you aren't convinced yet, I recommendation for an initial listen, the songs "Ring Around the Rosary," "San Diego," "She Comes to Me," "Your Nation Will Die," and "Unglued." (Hopefully, those of you reading this are fortunate enough to live close enough to a good record store that might be able to let you listen to an album you're contemplating purchasing. If not, then check out the myspace link at the bottom.)
Thats it for this blog. Check out the Burning Brides of course, they will not disappoint. Until next time kids, enjoy the rock music.
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