Brandtson – Send Us A Signal

Well, I don’t know much by Brandtson. I’ve heard a couple songs on compilations and only own their latest EP, Death & Taxes. But what I had heard I had love. Their EP, Death & Taxes, is one of my all time favorite EPs. Each song was powerful, emotional, and moving. They were catchy and just plain beautiful. I can always pick up that EP and start playing it and I’ll love it. So when I got the band’s latest album, and debut on The Militia Group, I was a bit surprised and disappointed; but after a few listens I started to enjoy it once again.

When I think of Brandtson, I would always think of slow, melodic music with an occasional outburst of harder music. So their opening song, Who Are You Now?, definitely caught me off guard as it starts off with some heavy guitar riffs. This doesn’t seem to stop much throughout the album, as most of their songs seem to be much harder then what I normally think. Sure, they still have some songs that remind me ofDeath & Taxes, like Mercy Medical, Blindspot, Over And Out, and the acoustic track, The Bottle And The Sea; but there aren’t many. Those are the songs I really love off Send Us A Signal, they are slow, catchy, and great emo songs. Don’t start to worry though, the rest of the songs are still pretty good. They are slightly harder, leaning more towards the pop-rock genre, which is also a good listen. They just take longer to get use to, but once you are used to them, you will really like them.

One thing that I still love, and will always love, about Brandtson is their lyrics. They are carefully thought out, catchy, incredibly smooth, and always thought provoking. You are often found searching through the lyrics booklet in order your catch that phrase you just missed, then you quickly find yourself in awe at Myk Porter’s amazing diction.

Send Us A Signal has grown on me. With each listen I have fallen in love with the CD a bit more. Its not as good as Death & Taxes, but maybe after a bit of team it will be.