Review of Brother at The Academy 2, Dublin on April 19th 2011
By James Hendicott
Snaps by Alessio Michelini
Someone give Brother’s publicity department a medal. Without having actually released anything of any real note just yet, the Slough band have already established themselves as Brit Pop’s arguably-superfluous saviours. The youngsters have all the self-awareness of your most obnoxious friend after half a pint of vodka, yet have managed to wrangle themselves a bashing off the equally forthright Liam Gallagher and a double spread in NME in which they slag off pretty much anything they can think of. In our own interview in they even confidently review their own album as not only comparable to Blur, The Smiths and The Chemical Brothers (an odd, musically disjointed selection if ever we heard one), but also ‘extraordinary’. Nothing like a bit of modesty, hey lads! The thing is, we can’t help but be curious.
On the evidence of tonight’s turn out, though, Ireland’s gig-attending public are not buying – literally, in fact, as the turn out in the dingy basement of The Academy 2 is almost certainly less than triple figures – but there’s no doubting that Brother already have a certain ‘love ‘em or hate ‘em’ allure. The disappointment from Newell and co when they trample on stage at little after nine is almost palpable: they certainly expected a bigger turn out, and later politely describe the gig as ‘intimate’. The Academy 2’s so empty that it’s cool, rather than it’s usual sweat box. To be fair, though, Brother play with plenty of the gusto their feisty interview style would lead you to expect.
Tonight’s set is meagre but vibrant, fronted by Lee Newell’s snarling, Gallagher-influenced vocals, but backed by a far more substantial rock-out element than Brit Pop’s accustomed to. It’s lively enough to get the handful down the front (perhaps two dozen punters seem to be here based on more than curiosity) leaping around manically, and engaging enough that – though their claims on almost legendary status at this early stage still appear ridiculous – Brother can claim at least an iota of ‘trousers’ to back up their substantial ‘mouth’.
The highlights are predictable: singles ‘Darling Buds Of May’ and ‘Time Machine’ are sneering, fronting pieces of pure rock and roll theatre, punctuated by some impressive guitar solos and a whiplash inducing quality that doesn’t seem at all diminished by the meagre turn out. The stage show is impressive, too: sure, the dancing female backing singer seems to be present more for affect than any real noticeable aural quality, but she fits perfectly with the band’s ‘party lads’ image. The keyboard player singing backing vocals just adds a scarcely needed umph to the already multi-layered chorus lines. For such a small-scale performance, though, it’s quite an impressive assortment.
In eight tracks and a set that barely surpasses half an hour, Brother are still expanding on the efforts of their UK tour by a full song, and there’s barely a ‘filler’ track to be seen. They pack far more punch than a typical Brit Pop band in a live setting – perhaps that ‘Grit Pop’ tag represents some real change after all – and their songs are nothing if not well-constructed and infectious. They won’t change the world, but talking about doing just that has got Brother where they are now. They’re better than the ‘Johnny Borrell’ outlooks leads us to expect, and they may as well keep rambling on about it, as like their 90s predecessors, they’re a band that could become adored for their arrogance. Let’s face it, is probably exactly what Liam Gallagher finds so obnoxious about them, and it’s certainly the only reason we’ve ever heard of them. Don’t expect Brother to be headlining a stadium anytime soon, but adjust expectations to a more reasonably level and the newcomers will probably impress regardless.
Setlist
Still Here
Fly By Nights
High Street Low Lives
David
Shoot Like Lightning
Darling Buds Of May
New Year’s Day
Time Machine
