Brigade
London-based quartet Brigade rank as one of the most criminally overlooked bands in British rock music. Unbridled by the latest ‘scene’ or fashion, they’ve always teetered on the brink of the ‘big-time’, picking up plenty of critical plaudits along the way for their impeccable ability to write huge, timeless rock songs that are built on intricate structures and eschew clichés.
With third album, ‘Will Be Will Be’, though, they’ve outdone themselves. Eight years into their career, the 11-tracker finds the band in irresistible form. Carrying on from the impressive salvo that was last year’s ‘Love Is A Duel’ EP, the record caps a triumphant fight-back for the band, who almost never got round to making another album following 08’s ‘Come Morning We Fight’, owing to singer Will Simpson suffering vocal problems that threatened Brigade’s future.
“At one point, I did think, ‘I’m never going to get my voice back, it’s over. I think maybe it’s time to accept defeat and give up’,” he says.
‘Will Be Will Be’ is the band’s first self-produced effort, recorded over 16 days across January and February at Camp Kuru (Essex band The Kuru Smile’s self-constructed studio) in Colchester. This maintained the four-piece’s penchant for recording in weird and wonderful rural destinations.
“It’s literally an old chicken shed – one of those long huts that you see – in the middle of nowhere in the countryside,” explains Will.
This leant itself to a creative atmosphere in which the band – completed by guitarist/vocalist James Plant, bassist Naoto Hori, and drummer Andrew Kearton – could allow their perfectionist nature to flourish.
“One of the things that we pride ourselves on is that we spend a lot of time on arrangements and we’re constantly re-assessing and re-editing the songs,” explains the singer. “We’re not four guys who will just say, ’That’ll do’. We really push hard to the extent where, it’s not like we want to kill it by over-production, but we want it to sound like it should at its best.”
Not that the first-time producers didn’t make the odd mistake; when Mark Williams (Biffy Clyro, Bloc Party) came to mix the final results, he joked he couldn’t believe some of the schoolboy errors the lads made – and subsequently rectified – along the way, including initially missing an entire guitar track which was recorded through the wrong amp.
“But no, he was really impressed with what we’d managed to achieve in two weeks,” laughs Will.
Williams had good reason for such admiration, because ‘Will Be Will Be’ is the most ambitious thing Brigade – a band who have never shied from expansive rock songs or massive melodies – have ever done, and they’ve pulled it off with aplomb. For the first time, the band used electronic programming, percussion and strings, and in ‘Find Your Own Way Home’ included gang vocals contributed by PledgeMusic pledgers – fans who got involved by donating to the record’s funding. Will admits the experience of reaching out to the band’s fan base to financially support the album’s creation was nerve-racking.
“We’d been gone for two years and we weren’t sure people knew what we were doing or were interested anymore. That was scariest part – if we’d have done it back in 2008 when we were on MTV and the radio a bit I’d have been more confident,” says the singer.
He needn’t have worried, because the consistent class Brigade have shown throughout their career is matched by a loyal and dedicated fanbase who were delighted to donate towards ‘Will Be Will Be’. Digital versions of the album went straight out to pledgers upon its completion in March, followed by full, artworked CD versions in May. Now, though, the band are setting about a full commercial release through Swansea-based label Mighty Atom, where they began their career with first album ‘Lights’ back in 2006.
Remastered, the full-length comes with a bonus DVD made up of live footage from three back-to-back shows in which they played each of their albums in their entirety at London’s Hope & Anchor, interspersed with music videos and interview footage to create a documentary of the Brigade story. Sadly, though, that story is now entering a chapter that is unlikely to see much in the way of action from the Brigade camp. Following their UK November tour to promote the album, the boys plan to go into semi-retirement.
“The joke is that we’ll only do weddings and bar mitzvahs,” laughs Will.
“We just want to get back to that magic of four guys jamming in a room together. It’s impossible to maintain two full-time jobs at the same time,” adds the singer, who by day works for a TV production company. “We’ll record and play the odd show here and there, but in terms of being a full-time touring band, we’ll be winding it down.”
It’ in no way overstating the sonic scope and musical vision of Brigade to say that this is a band comparable to British rock powerhouses such as Muse and Biffy Clyro, and that they haven’t been able to reach similar levels of commercial success is in no way a reflection of their quality. ‘Will Be Will Be’ is the ultimate way to close this part of the band’s rich history, and is undoubtedly one of the finest UK rock records of 2011. If they never make another album, it will leave a fitting legacy.
Related show
