Brakes
Rock is Dodelijk (Fat Cat)
Brakes serve up an ear-thrashing 20-track live album that showcases their gleefully manic rock show. Having seen Brakes play countless times - most of which I suspect they were all liquored up on cheap bourbon - I’ve witnessed some of the best sweaty gigs I’ve ever seen.
Brakes are an unstoppable force when they get started, intoxicated or not, Eamon Hamilton is one of the most endearing frontmen ever to grace the stage. Tom and Alex White have nothing less that animal instincts and bassist Marc Beatty is as a solid as a rock.
Split between two shows, the recordings on the fantastically named Rock is Dodelijk cull tracks from the band’s three studio albums showcasing the songs in a more rough and ready attire. The results are spectacular, from the fizzing ‘Heard About Your Band’ to the explosive ‘Porcupine and Pineapple’ to the latter material, ‘Hey Hey’ and ‘Don’t Take Me To Space (Man)’. Brakes are a band with humour and chops in abundance - here’s hoping this live album is just a comma before their next studio record rather than a full stop to what has so far been a short but awesome career.
Alan Souter
