Brave — Searching for the Sun

Today I officially come out of my reviewing vacation and present you with Brave’s latest piece (“opus” is such an overused word in the reviewing world), Searching for the Sun. Lets get the boring technical details out of the way: Running time of 48 minutes, 11 tracks and it is the band’s first full length under the name Brave although they also have a EP under that name, and the rest of their discography is to be found under the moniker Arise from Thorns.

Good. That’s what this album is. Everything from production to arrangements and vocal melodies are finely tuned and the musicians are obviously very professionals but that’s also one of… I’m getting ahead of myself; before telling you what I think of it, lets describe the music a little: The band plays rock music with female vocals not unlike a cross between Sarah McLachlan and a mellowed out metal band with progressive tendencies (but not to worry, no instrumental wanking). Most songs are structured in such a way that mood-setting instrumental sections and acoustic verses are sandwiched in between more lively electric choruses (but the opposite is also true and sometimes the song is built around the acoustic parts). This recipe makes the whole nicely dynamic and keeps away the numbing effect that lack of variation has.

As I already said, I think this album is good. I’d even say that it’s better than merely “good” and somewhere in between that and the realm of “excellent”. But the advice I want to give to those readers who are wondering if this album is for them is the following: If you like your music raw with a “live in the studio” feel and dirty guitar tones, this is probably not for you (get Virgin Black’s latest instead). Sure there are some relatively angular riffs, but don’t let the metal background of some of Brave’s musicians fool you into thinking that they are a metal band with melodic female vocals because they are not. But if you are looking for rock music with some progressive and metal influences, for something that sounds like the second half of Forgotten Silence’s last album minus the middle eastern influences, for an album with impeccable production values and a very “planned” feel to the songs (it’s obvious that they didn’t just jam away in the studio), then Searching for the Sun will probably interest you quite a bit. Yeah, quite a bit…