Brigade, Islington Academy, May 29th
Tuesday, 10 Jun 2008 13:37
Brigade, Islington Academy, May 29th
"I hope you've enjoyed it as much we've enjoyed being here," says Will Simpson as Brigade's set draws to a close and though it's fair to say the majority of the crowd have assembled in north London for his younger brother's band Fightstar, they've been treated to a powerful and overwhelmingly intense set from Simpson the elder's troops.
The relative maturity of the crowd - compared to that which filled the Academy for Red Jumpsuit Apparatus - shows that Fightstar have paid their dues and are now respected but with riffs like slabs of rock and hypnotic rhythm that keeps momentum alive even with the newer material, Brigade are in reach of the same big leagues.
Simpson sounds younger than his brother, bizarrely - though the whole band look fresh out of sixth form college - but his vocals have the same throaty intent and when a stadium-sized Pilot arrives, with its irresistible pace screaming of the radio play it should have been given, the Academy cries the refrain of "take the pain away" in unison and, for a moment of lyrical darkness, it's undeniably hopeful.
Brigade are clearly fans of the 'battlefield shelling' approach to percussion, appropriately enough for the name, and with the militaristic drums pounding over the dentist's drill of Simpson and James Plant's guitars, the former's exhortation that we attend the band's August Barfly shows seems an invitation to good to turn down.
The influence of Funeral For A Friend, Glassjaw and Taking Back Sunday rings out and while the foursome's passionate, potent post-hardcore is derivative, you could have far worse influences.
Lewis Bazley
Check out the video for Pilot below: