Brother
Rorschach – Brother Rorschach EP
DL
Out
Now
8.5
/ 10
Brighton
based, rock Goth four piece release their first (and last) EP.
One
of 2014s finest albums was undoubtedly The Bullet Within by BirdEatsBaby where the orchestral punk-rockers pilled together dramatic
idea after dramatic idea. After the dust
had settled on the album, members Mishkin Fitzgerald and Forbes Coleman wrote
the five songs here whilst BirdEatsBaby reformed.
The
project, named after Hermann Rorschach the creator of the projective test is
(allegedly) a one-off project for the songs which maybe didn’t fit into the
BirdEatsBaby style.
Yet
again, the songs are dramatic and have given the band the opportunity to
experiment in different styles as a separate entity. Opener Crystal Heart is probably the most
commercial effort here. Beginning with
a Muse-like synth orchestration (ironic, as they recently released a version of
Muscle Museum), Fitzgerald’s vocals slowly unwind from an almost whisper to a spectacular
cavalcade complimented by increasingly rising instrumentation before dying back
again. It’s a lesson in anthemic song-writing
to be sure and one which really does demand to be heard on a larger scale.
Dirty
Window goes for a one-two beat underpinned by a great bass hook and is
relatively sparse on instruments until the chorus comes in making the whole
affair seem larger than life. It’s a
gripping song which again has sufficient hooks to obtain decent radio play
(with removal of a certain profanity for those scaredy station hierarchies).
More
Muse(ings) on Lipstick Trace which hints at prog-rock roots. There’s a great drum episode before each
bridge and again the song is high powered bar a short let-up in the
chorus. Vocals are once more powerful
and almost Goth operatic.
Highlight
of the EP comes in the form of Pill Hole which begins with electronic blips and
beeps with an interesting vocal arrangement.
A rambling bass-line accompanies until the song surprise at one minute
where everything dies to a tumbleweed existence before powering up again. It’s all very experimental electronic
power-pop and is brilliant as it ascends into a punk close.
Closer,
The Sun sees swirling keys and layered vocals as a manic intro commands centre
stage. The sometimes prog-rock keys
churn and spin with an intertwined rock guitar.
It’s all very original stuff and thoroughly, thoroughly entertaining.
Links
Brother Rorschach on Soundcloud
Brother Rorschach on Twitter
Brother Rorschach on Facebook
BirdEatsBaby album review
Published on Louder Than War 27/07/15 - here
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