The Bravery

On paper, the Bravery sound impressive. Their bio claims they’re to credit for mixing electronica and rock into one electro-rocking genre. Well, call it what you will but what originated in a New York basement with a MacBook and guitar doesn’t come off sounding too "evolutional.” Sure, they diligently mix skinny guitar riffs with neat electronic vibrations but so do most radio-friendly bands these days. That’s not to say the Bravery’s second full-length for Island is a flop and nothing but generic sounding radio garbage, it’s not. It’s dynamic and exciting, danceable yet introspective and deep. "Time Won’t Let Me Go” is catchy and shows their refined improvements since their smash-y self-titled debut. Other memorable moments appear in the rad synthesiser sections of "Fistful of Sand” and the poignant bass and whistling Beatles-like sing-along that is "Believe.” When all is said and done, the Bravery have put forth a solid effort, one filled to the brim with rhetorical questions about our humanity, and the classic bewilderment of our current state that many artists feel the need to discuss. When Sam Endicott sings, "Give me something to believe… What are we waiting for?,” you may wonder if he could have come up with something less cliché, but the wailing classic rock soloing at the bridge will make you forget, and possibly forgive.