Brittlestar

Waiting is the debut album from Canadian band
Brittlestar, driven by songwriter Stephen J. W. Reynolds.
The band describes itself as rock-pop, with lyrics that
lean toward pop and an instrumental backing that leans toward
rock.
The opening song “Gasoline” has a sound strangely
reminiscent of vintage Cure (think “Just Like Heaven”).
There’s definitely some synth/keyboard business going on in
the background, which I tend to detest, but at the same time
the song reminds me of the two or three ’80s hits that I actually
like. The unorthodox combustion metaphor grows on you with
repeated listening, even if it does remind me too much of Jason
Compson. It takes talent to put a new spin on the old idea of
burning up with passion.
“Passion is a hard thing to conceal,” intones the third track,
continuing the theme of all-consuming attraction. The heavy,
throaty sound of the guitar and percussion provide excellent
grounding for the rhythmic, almost elusive lyrics. These two early
highlights seemed to bode well for the album as a whole.
Unfortunately, after “Gasoline” and “Passion” the lyrics take
a far less interesting turn. Get born, keep warm, short pants,
romance, the usual. The pop side of the band tends to come out in
the lyrics, which seem to be mainly about breaking up and getting
together, topics that sometimes just fall flat because they’ve been
handled too many times by too many people.
For instance, “The Long Weekend,” the fourth song on the
album, deals with the inevitable break-up that comes when
someone sleeps with his significant other’s best friend while said
other is out of town. Interesting topic, I suppose, but the strong
guitar work and the audible attitude copped in the music easily
outshine the inanity of telling your girlfriend “I’m sorry” when
she catches you in bed with her buddy. The spiraling guitar solo
brings the song together, elevating it to the emotional pitch
necessary to give the lyrics weight, but the band’s talent and
style would be better suited to less humdrum subject matter.
Yes, I know that most music is about love, but Brittlestar’s
strength is clearly in its unique song and not its overwrought
depiction of the torments of romance. They should play up the
rock-and-roll sound by crafting at least a couple of straight-up
sneering anthems of rebellion. God knows there’s still plenty to
rebel against in this day and age.
As for the remixes that come later on the album — just…no.
Remixes only work well for Britney Spears and Elvis. And
sometimes not even them.
All this being said, what Brittlestar is good at, it is very good
at indeed. Despite the tedious focus on romance, lyrics that vary
widely from intriguing to uninspired, and two terribly ill-fated
remix attempts, the instrumental work alone makes Waiting
very much worth listening to. As a first release, the album is
especially promising, possibly heralding a new talent — one
that will hopefully link its considerable musical ability to a more
exciting mix of topics somewhere down the road. - The Harvard Independent-Kelly Faircloth