After releasing two good albums, The Blood Brothers went onto record what is seen by many as their most solid album to date. With their signature two vocalist attack, clever lyrics and wierd range of sounds mixed in with heavy doses of angst, The Blood Brothers are one of few new Hardcore/Punk bands who can claim to be unique. In fact, it really is a hard task to try and put the band into a category.
The Blood Brothers
Johnny Whitney - Vocals, Keyboards, Glockenspiel, Acoustic Guitar
Jordan Billie - Vocals
Morgan Henderson - Bass, Piano, Synth
Cody Votalato - Guitar, Bass
Mark Gajadhar - Drums
This Adultery Is Ripe was a plan for how The Blood Brothers were going to sound. By the time they had released
March on Electric Children and
Burn Piano Island, Burn, they really knew what ehey were doing. The great thing about The Blood Brothers is that they can match the intensity of the craziest bands out there, including metal bands. But while their music has this intensity, it is full of melody, clever and witty lyrics and complex and techinical rhythms. On the top of this is Johnny Whitney's unique, intense and humerous vocals. The lyrics of
Burn Piano Island, Burn switch between the odd but clever ("Melting on the shore inside a flame snow globe" ) and the downright silly and funny ("With a face like that you're never ever gonna make it big" ). The interplay between the two vocalists is nothing short of incredible and with these lyrics, the songs couldn't be better. The best part about this music is that within the insanity and chaos of the music, there are tons of catchy hooks and melodies. A great example is the standout "USA Nails". Whitney screams at the top of his voice, "1-900 USA!!", a line which sticks in the listeners head forever, as well as the main guitar riff from the song.
Burn Piano Island, Burn acheives something many bands never acheieve in their entire careers. The album manages to have 12 songs which are never bad. At the same time, there are quite a few standout points throughout the album. The intro track, the very short "Guitarmy" is one of the albums best with Whitney and Billie screaming such rebellious and hilarious lyrics (Do you remember us? We wrapped your Corvette in cellophane, set it aflame) and the band's muscians belting out great riffs and rhythms in perfect sync with each other. Also making great use of occasional keyboards, Johnny Whitney plays some cool electric piano riffs throughout the album (most notably on the closer, "The Shame" ). As well as chaotic screaming with every band member thrashing the hell out of their voices and instruments, The Blood Brothers make some truly excellent sing along choruses such as "laaaa la la la la la la la" on "God Bless You Blood Thirsty Zeppelins" and "I seeeee Your wife and children..." on "Ambulance vs. Ambulance". Lines like these can be sung and stick in the listener's head. Never taking themselves as seriously as most screamo bands, The Blood Brothers acheive amazing results. The album closer, "The Shame" ends as an epic and makes the album seem like it's been building towards that since the beginning. In actual fact, it's an album full of great songs that flows together and will hopefully one day be known as one of the best Hardcore albums ever made.
Pros
Good mix of sounds in every song
Great lyrics
The band are amazingly tight, the two vocalist trick works very well
Coms
A bit more softer stuff to make the intensity stand out more would have been good
Reccomended Tracks
Ambulance vs. Ambulance
USA Nails
The Shame
FINAL RATING: 4/5
