Review Summary: Extra-special indie pop when you need it
As I was stumbling through last.fm, as one does, checking out new bands who might be able to bring an extra bit of delight into a mediocre day, I came across a plethora of bands that I hadn't been exposed to before. I was merely trying to find an alternative / indie pop band that had that little bit extra. It was then that I found Brighten, this 3-piece from Chico, California. 'Extra' is exactly what they had, so I immediately downloaded the new ep 'Early Love' on iTunes, and I stuck it on repeat.
Despite sounding quite like a lot of the indie pop bands that are releasing material at the moment, Brighten have that extra dimension. The tone of the songs, the actual sound the production creates is the most pleasing aspect of this cd for me, and the laid back feel it goes for is met without a touch of apathy.
The choruses of this ep are exactly what you would want from a record like this, experimental harmony at times, but more often than not, simple yet well-worked melodies, running smoothly over the perfect sounding tone of the drums, and the harmonies of the guitar and bass lines.
The opening track 'Carolina' kicks off the cd well, with an intro running seamlessly into the first verse, the singer Justin Richards (brother of drummer Jimmy, band finished off by bassist Alex Draper) vocalising his feelings about a girl he is missing. The first track runs straight into the second track, which happens throughout the album, the tracks flow into eachother nicely yet the singularity of tracks is nevertheless maintained. The opening track of an ep, especially for an up and coming band like this, with so many other bands of this genre trying to give their little bit extra, their personality, Brighten do pretty well.
The strongest tracks in this 7-track ep/mini-album, for me, are 'We Are Birds' and ep closer 'What She Really Wants'. 'We Are Birds' is a simple yet beautiful track with a guitar hook that continues throughout the song, occasionally mimicked by the vocals, that is simple yet gives the song the extra pop factor. This occurs along with the vocal line in the chorus singing "If you're a bird then I'm a bird", a quote from romantic film 'The Notebook', that sings out high, leaves you imagining the birds flying along with the melody, leading into 'Swing', showing the punker side to the ep. 'What She Really Wants' finishes off this great cd with almost epic guitar and synth work that is alternates with the verses and, once again, beautiful vocal lines that shine over the underlying piano line which cuts through when it is needed. The end of the song is a mixture of synth samples and instrumental, with ocassional vocal lines adding to the epic nature of the final song.
This is a summer record. Released in the small days of September 2008, a summer record that has a cover depicting an ice cream, with a band name that implies sun, beach and summer on so many levels, leaves the listener wanting to go outside and have their hair swept back in the summer breeze and drink pimms on the beach. If it wasn't February right now, I would do exactly that.
