Broken Records - Toska EP (JSharp)
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| Broken Records - Toska EP |
Release Date: 24th March 2014
Time for the Scots to make a
return to my ears in the shape of Edinburgh collective Broken Records and their
new EP Toska - coincidentally of an old friends blind cat who was constantly
walking in to walls with a mix of hilarity and sadness. Anyhoo...this four track
collection kicks off with title track 'Toska', a brooding, slow burning piece
of darkly seductive music with rolling drums, soulful vocals and a very real
sense of anguish. 'See You On The Way Down' has a mournful tone to it, like a
lament as sung by a lonely sea faring man when he is at the furthest point from
shore. Broken Records have a great sense of morose grandeur in a way that
Marmaduke Dando, Nick Drake or Editors have with luxuriant baritone vocals
wrapping around you to form a warm, knitted scarf (or is it a noose?).
The sleepy, overheard speech that
heralds the beginning of 'Ward' harks back to a memory you never had before the
simple piano melody seeps in to being and the warm, rich strings creep up the
walls to envelope you entirely. 'Revival' is the closing track and there is a
more rocking, heavy and, strangely, optimistic tone to this parting shot.
Pitched somewhere between Bruce Springsteen, Frank Turner and Joshua Tree era
U2, 'Revival' would make a great set closer to leave crowds with a sense of
sadness and hope separated only by a blurred charcoal line. This is music for
fans of bands with big sounds, big minds and huge, aching hearts like the
National or Arcade Fire and I can see these guys on a stage at an uber cool
American festival in the not too distant future. In the meantime, see if you
can catch them on their mini tour in April.
More information: https://www.facebook.com/brokenrecords?fref=ts
Live Dates:
14th April - King Tut's, Glasgow
15th April - The Sebright Arms, London
16th April - The Wardrobe, Leeds