Brigade

BRIGADE – Ah this is pretty much there ready to go and take the evening’s radio waves over, big brave anthemic guitar rock of a Placebo/Muse/Cave-In/Oceansize/Desman/My Vitriol nature. Brigade have a lot of class, a lot of energy, a lot of everything, and they’re not that obvious either, there’s those big sky rockets of hope here again, as well as all the thrilling drive. Well crafted energy, melodic bounce, just the right amount of bite…. Impressive and rather recommended indie guitar rock with an extra bit of class.


- organart.com

From London via Suffolk and Japan, Brigade are the surprisingly tasty band of one Will Simpson, brother of Charlie from Busted. Get any wary premonitions of preened and polished pop punk out of your head, though, for 'Safe Hands' is a collection of hard-edged rock songs that call to mind Silverchair, Placebo and The Pixies. Simpson himself sounds like a less helium-driven Brian Molko, holding down these ambitious songs with some style. 'I'll Be Your Emergency' is best, flitting between emotional outbursts and heavy-handed riffing, while it's sublime chorus manages to include harmonised backing vocals without sounding corny. The title track is also notable, coming on like My Vitriol at their fractured, hypnotic best, while 'Go Slow' demonstrates an impressively mature approach to songwriting. While there's no doubt that this band will be unfairly judged based on the music made by their frontman's brother, it's safe to say they possess all the talent and ambition they need to tear their detractors several new arseholes. Keep your eye on these ones...

8/10
- .44 Caliber

When’s a demo not a demo? Is a true demo a scribbled on CD in a plastic sleeve without a slip of artwork? Can a good looking, you’d-pay-money-for-it CD count as a demo? Me, I’ve no idea, hence why this three-tracker from London rockers Brigade finds itself categorised as a fully fleshed, bona fide single. The CD’s professionally pressed and the artwork’s accomplished. Thus, it’s a single, right?
Right, wrong, whatever – the sole point of importance is that this record rocks. Lead track ‘Safe Hands’ is a polished pop-rock gem in the vein of so many semi-alternative rockers; a track likely to have arms waving with equal enthusiasm be they at the Bull & Gate or the CD:UK studios. It’d be easy to play the indier-than-thou card here, and state that the song’s completeness is such that grass roots coverage is next to nonessential. But fuck it; it rocks, plain and simple. Okay, so it does so in a manner that’s perhaps a little too plain and simple for the more discerning consumer (read: indie snob), but to dismiss it on grounds of astute production and compositional simplicity (all things relative, mind) is to overlook the track’s potential impact upon your standard, buy-two-albums-a-year type. It’ll rock their world.

‘Go Slow’ is the unsung highlight here, though: a lengthy, appropriately slow-building track that opens with a nod to all things Pink Floyd before growing into a lighter-waving future anthem. Again, its slickness is such that scrubby punks aren’t going to buy into it, but to these ears Brigade don’t necessarily need to make an underground impression. These songs are the finished articles; all that’s needed is a hefty push into the hands of those mass-market consumers.

- Drowned in Sound

This three tracker demonstrates Will Simpson and co's ability to pen a nifty hard rocking anthem. Guitar driven, emotive songs are carried here by Simpson's interesting twang, and oodles of atmosphere that seeps through them, 'I'll Be Your Emergency' and 'Go Slow' being both notably impressive.

8/10 - Rock Sound

...they delivered a collection of tracks that smacked you in the guts, and on one or two rare occasions, kicked you in the chops for good measure. With all the balls of Placebo, but with some of the bounce of Feeder, and the sheer punk brass neck of neither, a great crowd stuck about to see them. And they were not disappointed. These guys will go farther, and I expect that everyone who was here tonight will remember the gig with a smirk, and tell their friends all about it in snide voices in years to come, because they weren't there. Ha.
- Podboy

...the excitement only got more intense at the arrival of Brigade on stage... They belt out a storming, although all too short set including 'Versus You There is No Contest', 'AM to Try' and 'Stunning' which is by far the stand out track of the evening from any band playing. Will Simpson's gritty but powerful voice seems to command the soaring, intrepid and self-assured guitars riffs to make compelling music. Although Brigade have only played 14 live shows to date and none outside London so far, they're so tightly knit and have such chemistry you can practically see the sparks of energy between them... songs such as 'Stunning' show the potential's there and once its heard en masse the world and its babies will be falling over each other to get a piece of them.

- audiojunkies.net