{"id":40574,"date":"2018-09-24T14:05:24","date_gmt":"2018-09-24T13:05:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/?p=40574"},"modified":"2018-09-25T08:49:03","modified_gmt":"2018-09-25T07:49:03","slug":"what-you-need-brix-and-the-extricated-lay-the-ghost-of-mark-e-smith-on-new-album-breaking-state","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/2018\/09\/what-you-need-brix-and-the-extricated-lay-the-ghost-of-mark-e-smith-on-new-album-breaking-state\/","title":{"rendered":"WHAT YOU NEED – Brix And The Extricated Lay The Ghost Of Mark E Smith On New Album ‘Breaking State’"},"content":{"rendered":"

Following hot on the heels of its predecessor\u00a0Part 2, Breaking State <\/strong><\/em>shows\u00a0Brix and the Extricated <\/strong>staying true to their post-punk roots, while expanding their songcraft into new and surprising areas.<\/h4>\n

With no fewer than four\u00a0Fall<\/strong>\u00a0alumni in their five-piece line-up – <\/strong>including frontwoman\u00a0Brix Smith Start<\/strong> – the band will\u00a0forever be inextricably linked with the late Mark E,<\/strong>\u00a0but sensibly, their music seems to be moving ever further away from his influence.<\/h4>\n

While it’s been intriguing to see them tackle Fall classics like\u00a0Hotel Bloedel<\/strong><\/em>, Cruiser’s\u00a0Creek<\/strong><\/em> and US ’80s ’90s<\/strong><\/em>\u00a0in live sets, the songs are not always best suited to Brix’s register.<\/p>\n

Now, having gigged incessantly over the past year, they’re fast carving out a style and identity of their own – albeit tinged with infusions of New Wave and psychedelia.<\/p>\n

Blondie<\/strong> are an obvious touchstone, along with\u00a0Buzzcocks\u00a0<\/strong>and ’80s girl group\/Velvets revivalists\u00a0The Primitives<\/strong>, but this band of veteran musicians are more than the sum of their influences.<\/p>\n

Drawing from the twin guitar attack of\u00a0Jason Brown<\/strong>\u00a0(Parent)\u00a0<\/strong>and\u00a0Steve Trafford\u00a0<\/strong> – much heralded for his work on late-period Fall treasure\u00a0Fall Heads Roll <\/strong>–\u00a0Breaking State <\/em>is for the most part a collision of contrasting styles.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Songs like\u00a0H.C,\u00a0<\/strong>Dog Face<\/strong><\/em> and\u00a0Going Strong<\/strong><\/em> all blend aggressive punk verses with big, bold, shiny pop choruses.<\/p>\n

Fast, angry, mangled and distorted guitars, often give way to pristine, shimmering arpeggios, like California sunshine breaking through leaden Lancastrian skies.<\/p>\n

Similarly, Brix Smith Start’s vocals morph from vicious and bratty to sweet, earnest and entreating – it’s a jarring, but highly effective technique.<\/p>\n

Drummer Paul Hanley<\/strong>\u00a0also exhibits chameleon-like tendencies; pounding his kit to within an inch of its life at one moment, softly brushing his cymbals the next.<\/p>\n

Brother Steve Hanley<\/strong>‘s bass is unmistakable, more like a voice than an instrument at times, it dominates proceedings on songs like\u00a0Heavy Crown<\/strong><\/em> and album-opener\u00a0Alaska<\/strong><\/em>.<\/p>\n

Often it’s the only instrument you hear in the mix – the other musicians giving way to its punishing industrial throb.<\/p>\n

Some songs are straight-up pure punkers, the sex pest-bating\u00a0Sleazebag<\/strong>,\u00a0<\/em>for example, reveals Brix at her most belligerent, scowling: ‘May you wither in the dust\/May you choke upon your lust’.<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Lead track\u00a0Prime Numbers<\/strong><\/em>, meanwhile is the nearest they get to an early Fall-style dirty garage riff.<\/p>\n

The two most ambitious songs are sequenced side by side in the centre of the album and hint at a possible future direction for the band.<\/p>\n

Latin-flavoured\u00a0American Skies<\/strong><\/em> is a revelation, staccato rhythms and marching drums, opening up to lovely strings, courtesy of arranger\u00a0Sarah Brandwood-Spencer<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

With a wild, juddering change of mood towards the end and some of Brix’s most self-reflective lyrics, it’s a startling, significant piece of work.<\/p>\n

Vanity<\/em>\u00a0<\/strong>is equally impressive. A strange, unnerving, southern gothic folk song, with dark themes, it wouldn’t be out of place on a\u00a0PJ Harvey\u00a0<\/strong>or\u00a0Nick Cave\u00a0<\/strong>album.<\/p>\n

Album closer\u00a0Unrecognisable,<\/strong><\/em> on the other hand, is simply that.<\/p>\n

A big, wacky, fully orchestrated Hollywood show tune number – it vaguely reminded me of\u00a0The Sensational Alex Harvey Band<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Provocative and eccentric, it’s a glittering end to a thoroughly entertaining album from a rapidly developing band.<\/p>\n

If you thought\u00a0Brix and the Extricated<\/strong> were nowt but a glorified Fall tribute band, well think again.<\/p>\n