It’s sometimes hard to think of Brigade on their own merit, comparisons to Fightstar are inevitable with front man Will Simpson’s family ties. It’s always hard to push the comparison, fair play to Brigade, they are where they based on their own merits and have actually been going for longer than Fightstar. The single ‘Pilot’ comes from their second album, ‘Come Morning We Fight’, it shows a lot of promise on the whole. ‘Pilot’ sounds like a mixture of lots of things that we’ve all loved at times, the lead heavy intro and palm muting of the first verse have all been heard before.
It initially sounds like the effort of an American punk-rock band through the verse, though does develop and standout more on its own as it gets older. Now, to get this comparison out of the way, Will’s voice does remind of Charlie Simpson a lot at times, therefore it’d be easier to say they sound like Fightstar. But as I mentioned, they’ve done what they’ve done on their own merit, and they’ve always been a hardworking band. This song is as much Fightstar as a punch in the face is enjoyable; basically, the only likeness is vocally.
The palm muting progresses into a fully fledged rock song which in the end will make you want to listen over and over, it’s as simple as that. There’s not really anything new but at the same time it harnesses enough appeal to make you listen to the b-side. Speaking of the b-side, ‘Yes It Is’ sounds like something from InMe’s back catalogue initially, then the verse comes in and it starts to sound a little like The Used’s first album. This song isn’t on the album, and though it does have a few uplifting qualities and is generally nice to listen to, it’s easy to see why.
It’s too easy to make comparisons to other bands, unfortunately this makes Brigade seem like mediocre copycats, on the strength of this single the album will be something interesting and well worth a listen, but overall it all maybe lacks in finesse and originality what it offers in abundance in way of promise and energy. For a band who’ve had to forge their own way to stave off the comparisons to a famous sibling, they stand too firmly on safe ground.
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Let Them Know: The Story of Youth Brigade and BYO
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Brigade - Pilot (single)
