Slow Poison

Song: Slow Poison

Artist: The Bravery

Album: Stir the Blood

Remember when The Bravery and The Killers dropped their debut albums at the same time and their PR company (which they both shared) decided a rivalry would help both bands get press? If you read that sentence and said to yourself, "Who are The Bravery?" well... that about says it all.

At the time, I liked The Bravery a little better. A few leaked songs got me very interested in the band, and I connected with them more than what I'd heard from The Killers. Their albums came out, I liked both... and then stopped listening to The Bravery's, and continued to listen to "Hot Fuss" more, while they racked up hit singles. Then the respective second albums came out... The Killers proved themselves to be one of the more exciting American bands to come out in years and the The Bravery... well their second record was so awful that they re-recorded the entire thing and re-released it. Nothin'.

Well the band is back with a follow-up that aims for the sound of their debut again. Is it any good? Well... I really like lead Sam Endicott's voice, and their dirty electro-rock sound. It is way better than their last, but what is clear is that's it's unfair to compare them to The Killers anymore, and I think that poor decision to do so killed their chances as being bigger than they have been. The indie-rock blogosphere hates them, and without the machine saying you're cool, it's an uphill battle.

But, Endicott may have the last laugh, as his teaming with producer John Hill on this record led to the pair writing three tracks for the new Shakira record, one of which being her international hit title-track "She Wolf." They certainly don't bring them level of pop craft to "Stir the Blood" but it's a return for sure. There isn't a "Mr. Brightside" in this bunch... but then again, The Killers haven't had a "Mr. Brightside," since their "Mr. Brightside."

Enjoy.

Slow Poison

I Am Your Skin