Album Review: Be Brave – Auditorium

Auditorium – Be Brave

There are many crimes, and having had this Auditorium’s Be Brave in my possession for a few months only collecting dust has been a devastating oversight and possibly the crime of the century. A mixture of folk/indie/rock Be Brave has a blissfull blend of haunting melody and uninhibited hope. It sounds like a simple combination that can be said for a lot of recent albums, but something in the lyrics gives the songs a levity whereon first listen you might confuse it for solemnity and possibly darkness.

Be Brave, the brain-child and studio-child of Spencer J Berger, everything you hear on the record has been recorded and played by him… over the course of a year.  All the mixing was done by Berger, but mastered by Pete Lyman of Infrasonic Sound (Beck, No Age, Mission to Burma). Whether this is the work of an introverted genius or an anti-social hack will become very clear by the end of this review.  Formally called “Field,” this project now has other live musicians on board and is ready to burst onto the California live scene.

With 5 tracks of, arguably, some of the best unsigned music around that work itself into a rich tapestry of heroism, hope and ultimately beautiful music. But what does that really mean? There isn’t a day goes by that I don’t see a review that says “the best thing since slice bread” and then sadly it becomes yesterdays news before the black and white pictures have started to fade. Be Brave is one of the most accomplished EPs I’ve listened; one of the best. There is longevity infused into each song, reverting the aging process that afflicts the flavour of the week, and after five days of listening to it on repeat I’m still not bored.

Songs to look out for on the record are as follows, and not necessarily in that order, “Sunday”, “I’m the Enforcer” and “Oh My Desperate Soul”. These are the key tracks for me, and the whole thing seems to revolve around the themes but then we’re not treading on familiar ground, each song is as different as can be, giving this EP strength as well as a common thread.

Be Bold, Be Brave.

~DC~Auditorium – Be Brave

There are many crimes, and having had this Auditorium’s Be Brave in my possession for a few months only collecting dust has been a devastating oversight and possibly the crime of the century. A mixture of folk/indie/rock Be Brave has a blissfull blend of haunting melody and uninhibited hope. It sounds like a simple combination that can be said for a lot of recent albums, but something in the lyrics gives the songs a levity whereon first listen you might confuse it for solemnity and possibly darkness.

Be Brave, the brain-child and studio-child of Spencer J Berger, everything you hear on the record has been recorded and played by him… over the course of a year. All the mixing was done by Berger, but mastered by Pete Lyman of Infrasonic Sound (Beck, No Age, Mission to Burma). Whether this is the work of an introverted genius or an anti-social hack will become very clear by the end of this review. Formally called “Field,” this project now has other live musicians on board and is ready to burst onto the California live scene.

With 5 tracks of, arguably, some of the best unsigned music around that work itself into a rich tapestry of heroism, hope and ultimately beautiful music. But what does that really mean? There isn’t a day goes by that I don’t see a review that says “the best thing since slice bread” and then sadly it becomes yesterdays news before the black and white pictures have started to fade. Be Brave is one of the most accomplished EPs I’ve listened; one of the best. There is longevity infused into each song, reverting the aging process that afflicts the flavour of the week, and after five days of listening to it on repeat I’m still not bored.

Songs to look out for on the record are as follows, and not necessarily in that order, “Sunday”, “I’m the Enforcer” and “Oh My Desperate Soul”. These are the key tracks for me, and the whole thing seems to revolve around the themes but then we’re not treading on familiar ground, each song is as different as can be, giving this EP strength as well as a common thread.

Be Bold, Be Brave.

~DC~