Frequently, bands get back together with dodgy motivations or to underwhelming results. Sometimes, though, they come back stronger, more compelling and completely reinvigorated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Following on from their 2011 break-up, UK quintet Brigade definitely fall into this latter category with their new EP, \u2018This Is Not For You\u2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The five-tracker is the most acerbic, riff-ridden work of their career \u2013 boasting a darker edge than previous material and a nuanced stylistic shift while retaining everything that made them great in the first place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI think we\u2019ve taken what we did with Brigade and we\u2019ve turned it up a notch,\u201d says frontman Will Simpson. \u201cWe\u2019ve gone bigger with the riffs, with the tuning we\u2019ve stepped down the guitars further. There are more complex arrangements and we tried not to think about things we thought about in the past \u2013 like how songs work for radio. It\u2019s just bigger, riskier, and more aggressive.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
To recap, Brigade were among the many British bands that broke out in the noughties but never quite hit the heights their quality deserved in a weird, transitional era. Their soaring, melodic rock songs nonetheless left an indelible impression on their fans and garnered rave reviews and award nominations from the likes of Rock Sound, Kerrang! and the NME.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Across three albums \u2013 2006\u2019s \u2018Lights\u2019, 08\u2019s \u2018Come Morning We Fight\u2019 and 2011\u2019s \u2018Will Be Will Be\u2019 \u2013 they built up a back catalogue to cherish, while touring with the likes of Biffy Clyro, and signing to Roadrunner Records in Japan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Like all good things, it was a run that came to an end seven years ago \u2013 but in the background over the intervening time, the core of the band never stopped exercising their songwriting and recording chops.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Through the post-break-up project More Dangerous Animal, Will and guitarist James Plant \u2013 flanked by fellow guitarist Mark Fisher, bassist Alex Baker and original Brigade drummer Fim \u2013 indulged the opportunity to challenge themselves and explore slightly heavier avenues.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Taking a more low-key, hobbyist approach to making music \u2013 away from day jobs that range from farming to TV production and healthcare \u2013 brought a raft of new ideas to their writing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But it wasn\u2019t until they recorded the songs that comprise \u2018This Is Not For You\u2019 that it felt right to re-engage activities as Brigade \u2013 coinciding with a date at this year\u2019s Camden Rocks on the back of a reunion show in which the band\u2019s original line-up played the majority of \u2018Come Morning We Fight\u2019 on its 10th anniversary alongside fellow Brit-rockers Slaves To Gravity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe whole premise of More Dangerous Animal was to get the fun back into playing again and leave the business side behind,\u201d Will explains. \u201cWe started writing this music that was different to Brigade, recorded an EP, and put it out. But when we recorded the next EP, we were so excited about the strength and direction of the tunes, and when the reunion show came about it felt right to release it as a new start for Brigade in 2018 with a new line-up.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
From the outset of opener \u2018Coexisting\u2019, it\u2019s abundantly apparent that \u2018This Is Not For You\u2019 isn\u2019t an exercise in limp nostalgia. A notable shift in dynamic comes through Simpson and Plant fully sharing vocal duties, helping to bring new textures to Brigade\u2019s sound.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cJames has always had his own projects going on in which he\u2019s the lead singer, and in More Dangerous Animal he wrote a lot of the vocals,\u201d says Will. \u201cWhen we came to doing this EP, we knew people were used to having just one main vocal, but he\u2019s always had a distinctive voice within Brigade, so we thought why not mix things up? We couldn\u2019t be happier with how it turned out.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Recorded at Treehouse Studio in Derbyshire with Jim Pinder producing and mixed by Carl Bown (who between them have worked with the likes of Shvpes, Machine Head, Fightstar and Bullet For My Valentine), \u2018This Is Not For You\u2019 brilliantly captures Brigade as a band that sound as relevant and powerful as ever.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Among its other tracks, \u2018Hot Sick\u2019\u2019s stylistic cauldron melds together a maelstrom of ideas and dynamic shifts \u2013 wrapping up crunching riffs, eerie rock \u2018n\u2019 roll and irresistible hooks into a sub-four-minute whirlwind. The interchange between Plant and Simpson again plays a starring role in \u2018Trunchbull\u2019, which nods in parts as much to Queens of the Stone Age as it does to Brit-rock and post-hardcore contemporaries. Meanwhile, closer \u2018One Day At A Time\u2019 is equally multifarious, balancing a restrained pop sensibility throughout the verses with ceiling-shattering, reverb-drenched choruses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And yet this isn\u2019t a record with any underlying career ambitions; there\u2019s been no significant promo, no radio plugging, no clamour to get reviews. Although based on a dedication note from Mark Z. Danielewski\u2019s novel House of Leaves, the EP\u2019s title can be taken pretty much on face value: if you like it, great; if not, no worries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe\u2019re doing it for ourselves; a lot of people have expectations about what they think a band should sound like and how they should evolve, but we thought, \u2018No, we\u2019re not doing that\u2019,\u201d says Will. \u201cWe knew that not every Brigade fan was going to like this because it\u2019s a bit different \u2013 it\u2019s not going to please everybody, it\u2019s not going to be everyone\u2019s cup of tea. But again, it doesn\u2019t matter, so the EP title has a slight double meaning \u2013 one, in terms of having recorded it for us, and two, you\u2019re probably gonna hate it, but fuck it, this time we don\u2019t care!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Minimal gigging and the aforementioned lack of proactive promotion mean these sentiments definitely ring true. But the quality of the songs captured in \u2018This Is Not For You\u2019 give a whole different meaning to the \u2018fuck it\u2019 approach to making a comeback \u2013 marking, as they do, a very welcome return from a band that don\u2019t need the validation of our fanfare, but sure as hell deserve it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2018This Is Not For You\u2019 is available now across all digital channels, in addition to a new live album, \u2018Live At The Leicester Charlotte\u2019, recorded in 2006 and rescued from the vaults by Dave Simpson (no relation) of Brigade\u2019s first label Mighty Atom.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Brigade are:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Will Simpson \u2013 guitar, vocals<\/p>\n\n\n\n James Plant \u2013 guitar, vocals<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mark Fisher \u2013 guitar<\/p>\n\n\n\n Alex Baker \u2013 bass<\/p>\n\n\n\n Fim \u2013 drums<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Frequently, bands get back together with dodgy motivations or to underwhelming results. Sometimes, though, they come back stronger, more compelling and completely reinvigorated. Following on from their 2011 break-up, UK quintet Brigade definitely fall into this latter category with their new EP, \u2018This Is Not For You\u2019. The five-tracker is the most acerbic, riff-ridden work […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-281","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mightyatom.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/281","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mightyatom.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mightyatom.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mightyatom.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mightyatom.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=281"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/mightyatom.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/281\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":282,"href":"https:\/\/mightyatom.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/281\/revisions\/282"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mightyatom.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=281"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}