The Bravery - Review

Irving Plaza
5/16/05

Distilling synth-rock brewed on the corner of Mott and Broome streets, the Bravery made a homecoming from Britain at Irving Plaza.

"This is our first time at Irving Plaza," frontman Sam Endicott said. "For years I've been coming to this place. This is where you'd see all the awesome bands. I was always like, 'Someday Irving Plaza,' and here we are."

Delivering sounds popularized when Capezios were cool, crossbred with unruly, organic rock, the Bravery valiantly commanded attention, not that they've been lacking any.

Underneath the shadow of his faux-hawk, Endicott peered through thick smudge-proof mascara, delivering an earnest plea for love during the newest single, "Give In," from the Bravery's self-titled debut Island CD. Leaning into the front row, he crooned, Morrissey style, "Will you give in?" The singing lessons Endicott took via phone years ago left their impression.

"All I want is everything," Endicott continued. It seems that's not too much to ask. The bedroom recordings Endicott produced with keyboardist John Conway circa 2003 set off a chain reaction of opportunity that snatched the band from the Arlene's Grocery stage in New York and landed them in the U.K., where they twisted everyone's knickers around with a string of sold-out dates. They have returned stateside -- media-hyped, unfortunately, to potentially damaging overexposure.

The Irving Plaza show, however, showed how the fire started. It's hard not to get stirred about a band that can play sweaty, sexy, tight grooves with contagious hyperactivity. Endicott, bassist Mike H. and guitarist Michael Zakarin revel in movement and follow the music's driving low end around each other so intensely you wonder if you're watching a rotating stage. Perhaps it's from practice dodging beer bottles at shows in the U.K., but the frantic motion added commitment to their cause.

The Bravery unified most strongly on "An Honest Mistake," which featured Endicott's reeling vocals about a tryst with lasting consequences. Behind clear Ludwig drums, Anthony Burulcich drilled kicks through his fours on the floor on "No Brakes." On "Out of Line," Mike H.'s walking bass lines were articulated by the bobbing point on his rockabilly haircut. Throughout all the mayhem, Conway calmly manned his station, shooting well-placed keyboard crescendos over Endicott's shoulder on tunes like "The Ring Song."

"This is a song about living in New York City," Endicott announced. He approached "The Ring Song" verses like a narrative, but when he got to the part about becoming an honest man, he uttered an incredulous, comical, "Oh yeah?" as Conway cascaded a wave of sonics into the chorus.

The band's notorious swigging was barely detectable onstage, except when Mike H. doused the first row with Budweiser. With band parents in the balcony, perhaps they were on their best behavior.

Originally published in The Hollywood Reporter 5/17/05.