Brave Rival – Fight Or Flight
2022 debut album Life’s Machine didn’t just put British rock quintet Brave Rival on the map, it also helped underline that this is one of the best new rock bands currently plying their musical trade.
Nor does it hurt that the band – the twin lead/ dual vocals of Chloe Josephine & Lindsey Bonnick, Donna Peters (drums, percussion, acoustic guitar), Ed "The Shred" Clarke (guitars), Billy "Danger" Dedman (bass guitar) – are an exceptional live act.
But the proof tends to be in the follow-up pudding and second album Fight Or Flight, which features a string quartet and Hammond & piano from Jonny Henderson (Elles Bailey), is a seriously tasty offering that also offers lyrical food for thought (many of the songs touch on mental health, anxiety, or failed/ difficult relationships).
'Bad Choices' opens proceedings with a bluesy riff and four-on-the-floor kick drum before the excellent harmony vocals of Chloe Josephine & Lindsey Bonnick kick in.
A great hook chorus, complete with backing "woah-ohs" and shouts of the title (courtesy of members of the band’s 'Bravians' fanbase), will clearly encourage audience participation, while Ed Clarke contributes the first of a series of impressive solos across the album's twelve tracks.
The riff driven and rockin' 'Seventeen' (lyrically looking back to more carefree teenage years) is introduced in 7/4 timing before swapping to 4/4 for the choruses.
Another expert solo from Ed Clarke raises the bar of this huge sounding song even further.
'Stand Up,' a clarion call to "never give up" and featuring some wicked harmonica from guest player Will Wilde, is another foot-stomping winner.
The song is bolstered further by another memorable chorus, Hammond backing, impressive harmonies and an expressive solo from Ed Clarke with the aid of a half-cocked wah-wah.
The downtempo 'Insane' swaps intensity for moody atmosphere, picking up at the choruses (Josephine & Bonnick to the vocal fore) before dropping back to the slightly menacing verse sections, the latter featuring sympathetic rhythm work from Billy Dedman and Donna Peters (who play for the song throughout).
Lyrically centred on depression, and with an extremely powerful, string backed outro section that nods to Zeppelin’s famed 'Stairway' (including a quicksilver solo by Ed Clarke), 'Insane' is a stone cold dark winner, and a true highlight of the album (it's also one of the best rock songs of 2024).
'Fairytale' is initially more whimsical (as the title would suggest), but the folkier intro is blown apart by the introduction of a rocky riff that sets the scene for the rest of the "down the rabbit hole!" song.
There are some echoes of Heart (a common reference point) at the top of their harder rock game on this number, which is no bad thing.
Nor does it hurt that the band – the twin lead/ dual vocals of Chloe Josephine & Lindsey Bonnick, Donna Peters (drums, percussion, acoustic guitar), Ed "The Shred" Clarke (guitars), Billy "Danger" Dedman (bass guitar) – are an exceptional live act.
But the proof tends to be in the follow-up pudding and second album Fight Or Flight, which features a string quartet and Hammond & piano from Jonny Henderson (Elles Bailey), is a seriously tasty offering that also offers lyrical food for thought (many of the songs touch on mental health, anxiety, or failed/ difficult relationships).
'Bad Choices' opens proceedings with a bluesy riff and four-on-the-floor kick drum before the excellent harmony vocals of Chloe Josephine & Lindsey Bonnick kick in.
A great hook chorus, complete with backing "woah-ohs" and shouts of the title (courtesy of members of the band’s 'Bravians' fanbase), will clearly encourage audience participation, while Ed Clarke contributes the first of a series of impressive solos across the album's twelve tracks.
The riff driven and rockin' 'Seventeen' (lyrically looking back to more carefree teenage years) is introduced in 7/4 timing before swapping to 4/4 for the choruses.
Another expert solo from Ed Clarke raises the bar of this huge sounding song even further.
'Stand Up,' a clarion call to "never give up" and featuring some wicked harmonica from guest player Will Wilde, is another foot-stomping winner.
The song is bolstered further by another memorable chorus, Hammond backing, impressive harmonies and an expressive solo from Ed Clarke with the aid of a half-cocked wah-wah.
The downtempo 'Insane' swaps intensity for moody atmosphere, picking up at the choruses (Josephine & Bonnick to the vocal fore) before dropping back to the slightly menacing verse sections, the latter featuring sympathetic rhythm work from Billy Dedman and Donna Peters (who play for the song throughout).
Lyrically centred on depression, and with an extremely powerful, string backed outro section that nods to Zeppelin’s famed 'Stairway' (including a quicksilver solo by Ed Clarke), 'Insane' is a stone cold dark winner, and a true highlight of the album (it's also one of the best rock songs of 2024).
'Fairytale' is initially more whimsical (as the title would suggest), but the folkier intro is blown apart by the introduction of a rocky riff that sets the scene for the rest of the "down the rabbit hole!" song.
There are some echoes of Heart (a common reference point) at the top of their harder rock game on this number, which is no bad thing.
If 'Fairytale' was Heart-rock, 'Heavy' is the Wison sisters in string backed, power ballad mode.
With a lyric on the burden of anxiety, supported by beautifully delivered vocals and an emotive solo from Ed Clark (the Ace up the sleeve of Brave Rival). 'Heavy' may be unoriginal in arrangement, but its strength lies in its narrative and striking vocality.
Piano backed 'love lost' rock ballad 'All I Can Think About' is a little too on the classic rock ballad nose but 'Five Years On,' which celebrates the band’s first five years, is Brave Rival in a three-minute nutshell.
With a rollicking southern blues rock vibe, a pre-chorus riff to die for and a chorus that doesn’t kick in until after the second verse, 'Five Years On' works, and sounds right, on every level, further enhanced by dual lead vocals from Josephine & Bonnick that are totally on-point.
The punchy new wave meets 80s rock of 'Unravelling' benefits from some spacey riffing rather than the wall of sound favoured in some of the previous numbers and a great, popified middle 8; as such it makes for another great moment, but the progressively shaped 'Sink or Swim,' which follows, is a true highlight of the album.
Introduced by some delayed upper register bass part before settling into a verse which has echoes of early U2, the chorus then ups the ante with a rockier approach (there is some real innovation at play here, not least the chord sequence in the outro, which is experimental but absolutely works).
Another stellar solo toward the end by Ed Clarke before a repeat of the impacting choruses signs the number off in fine, highly impacting style.
'Blame The Voices' is an angsty, mid-tempo number reminiscent of Alanis Morrisette (again no bad thing).
With the string quartet in full backing cry, an inventive rhythm part (including a bass line that provides counterpoint to the vocal line in the chorus), and a feisty guitar solo over a Kashmir-esque middle 8, 'Blame The Voices' stands strong as yet another highlight.
The near seven-minute 'Stars On My Scars' (inspired by fans who have shared their stories of failed relationships or having to hide in insular shells), is a slow blues rock ballad with, yet again, an emotive and perfectly dovetailing solo from Ed Clark (who, fittingly, plays out solo on the outro).
The vocals and vocal arrangements on this number also demand your attention.
Life’s Machine was a hard act to follow, but there is no question Fight Or Flight (with a great production & mix from Tarrant Shepherd) is a serious progression; it betters that debut album, and by some long way.
Contender for rock album of the year? You’d better believe it.
Nelson McFarlane & Ross Muir
FabricationsHQ