The Brute Chorus

Wilmington Arms, London - 14 Jul 2008

by Jon Fletcher

In a fight between New Noise and New Noise, New Noise always gets the last laugh

"These people were only here for one thing, and it sure as hell wasn’t 'lamentable harmonising indie'"

A New Noise reviewer recently described The Brute Chorus as ‘lamentable harmonising indie for people who like dunce music and dance through parks’. Well, we (that is, the collective, authoritative voice of this particular part of New Noise) disagree.

We’re basing this not on the evidence of one single, listened to once and then discarded, but by the second of our visits to watch the band play live. And live, they’re fucking great.

This time around we sought them out on the tiny stage of the superbly revamped Wilmington Arms in Clerkenwell. The people behind the revamp – the owners of the late, lamented Hawley Arms in Camden – also happen to be sometime employers of singer James Steel, who still occasionally mans the bar when he’s not belting out gritty blues rock.

And therein lies our main issue with our reviewer’s rapid dispatch of the band with a ‘harmonising indie’ bullet to the head. Harmonise they certainly do, but syrupy oooh la la rock-lite this is not. Steel is a magnificent presence on stage and his growling vocals alone set the band apart from many of their contemporaries.

Watching them drives it home that, if anything, their problem will be their lack of a marketable sound. Structurally, their songs are often deliberately skewed, switching tack or tempo and mixing grunt and harmony in what can be uncomfortable measure. It’s an effect that is likely to pay dividends on record only after several listens, but which works with immediate effect in a live setting.

As if to confirm that the band are the draw tonight, the whole venue, previously packed full and hot as hell, empties immediately after their last song. These people were only here for one thing, and it sure as hell wasn’t lamentable harmonising indie. They do all look like the sort of people who dance in parks mind, but we rather like that about them.
Lovesoxxx said on July 31st 2008 [report abuse]

Wasn't there also an interview with them? What happened to that, eh? Or was it posted and I missed it?

the ed said on August 1st 2008 [report abuse]

<a href="http://www.new-noise.net/features/brute-chorus-interview_4489.html">buried deep in the archives</a>

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