Stir The Blood

This is The Bravery on a darker path. They've returned to a sound similar to that of their debut, The Bravery and they do so with finesse and I might add that it's synthier than the debut.

I'm going to go backwards here:
Sugar Pill: It's a probably the slowest song on the cd, but I enjoy it. It casts a dream like trance, as if you're NOT taking sugar pills. A dark lullaby entrancing and soothing.

Jack-O'-Lantern Man - A seriously strong song. I dig the synth and bass action on it -- as well as the ever present and enjoyable keyboards with a sweet guitar solo. Sam sings in his signature style.

Red Hands White Knuckles - This track reminds me of She Wants Revenge meets The Bravery. There's a metronome beat to it, as SWR would have, mashed up with our band here, The Bravery. I take it that it's a song about a guy trying to hold on to someone. :) I enjoy the use a child's xylophone in it.

I Have Seen the Future - Pure dance club fun from the land of Soma. Future disco, if you don't dance to this, you may want to see a doctor.

The Spectator - A slower song, but not a slow song. I think it's about a person who has only been a spectator in life and has never really participated in it. It's a deep track and it gets stuck in your head. It's kind of sad but to many people (at times myself included) it's truly how life can feel.

She's So Bendable - Probably my least favorite song in this collection and not so much because it wasn't sung by the lead. It just doesn't click for me. I'm sure the title gives you enough to work on a meaning for it. It's slow, it's a bass heavy track... I'm sure there's an audience out there for it.

I Am Your Skin - This song takes off and it's meaning is as it's titled.

Hatef--k - One of the catchiest songs in this collection. It's sang in and played in the manner as which it's meant. Aggressive, cold, dark, carnally. I almost feel guilty for loving the song!

Slow Poison - As Sam mentioned in their podcast, it's about being away from someone beloved and how it feels to be separated for so long. Sweet song.

Song for Jacob - "I don't ever want to sleep again, I wanna live till I die" I used to feel this way. "There's more inside of me than skin and bones" I think we all feel this way at times when people or society fail to appreciate us for who we are in our entirety. I love the song, it harks back to the debut in tempo and lyrically. It's a wonderful track! "This is a day that is brighter than bombs".

Adored - Let the electro begin! It's an upbeat bright song, 'we are born to be adored'. Indeed we are. It's a proper beginning to this collection.

If you were a fan of The Bravery's debut, you should enjoy this cd. It's a return the synthier, less commercially attainable Bravery. If you liked both the debut and Sun and Moon, you should like this as well. I think it's a win win in that way.

I gave The Bravery's last album a poor review (see my Amazon review). So I'm not a huge Bravery fan, but I have to say this album is really good. I am a big New Order, D-Mode, and Cure Fan...If you like either of these groups and want to hear something new give this album a couple listens. This album has more synth sounds and new order/cure type tones to it.....No real comparison to their last album..Much Better!!

New York-based the Bravery pretty much came out of nowhere with their 2005 self-titled debut album (containing the instant classic "An Honest Mistake"). However, the 2007 follow-up album "The Sun and the Moon" was a very uneven affair that ultimately disappointed. Now comes the band's third album.

"Stir the Blood" (11 tracks; 36 min.) kicks off with a rousing "Adored", followed by an equally energetic "Song for Jacob" and it immediately feels as if the band has returned to its roots and that this album is the true follow-up release to the debut album. First single "Slow Poison" is actually not one of the strongest tracks on here. The middle section of the album consists of a threesome of more quiet, reflective tunes, consisting of "I Am Your Skin", "She's So Bendable", and "The Spectator". After that, it's back to the up-tempo, danceable tunes, and frankly the latter part of the album is the strongest: "I Have Seen the Future", "Red Hands and White Knuckles" and "Jack-O'-Lantern Man" are THE stand-out songs on here, one better than the other. "Sugar Pill" closes out the album with a dark and brooding sense. In all, this album is clearly much better than "The Sun and The Moon" and as such a nice return to form, and at 36 min. it clips by in no time and you'll find yourself playing this again and again.

That said, I found the timing of this release (early December, 2009) very curious and unfortunate as it was lost in the post-Thanksgiving and pre-Christmas holiday shuffle, and way too late in the year to get any proper consideration for the year's best-of lists (I just now had a chance to really listen to it; it would've made my top 30 of 2009 but of course it's too late for that now). I've seen the Bravery in concert before and can only hope to have an opportunity to see these guys again (are you reading this, Coachella organizers?).

› Go to Amazon.com to see all 16 reviews  3.5 out of 5 stars