Brenda

Brenda Ep Review - May 2006
Image: © 2006 Brenda
Written by Chris Thorp

The first thing to note about Brenda’s new EP is that when you have finished listening to it, you can’t remember a single thing of it. The second thing to note is that it’s really rather good. Instead of battering the listener with brash, catchy songs, they present us with a set of slow-burning, avant-rock compositions that conjure up emotional states rather than getting your feet tapping. Stream-of-consciousness vocals soar above layerings of guitar and drum-lines that continue to build until they’re suddenly mutated into another direction. The CD ends with a brutal and overwhelming descent into noise, which leaves the listener mentally exhausted – and yet when it finishes there is the unmistakable urge to play it again. This is music to be absorbed again and again. Just don’t try and play it at a party.