Review: Band Of Brothers (SE) – Band Of Brothers

Scarilla! (2015)

Reviewer: Peter Scallan

There wasn’t much info included with the album for reviewing, but it is safe to say that as three of the members of the band have the surname Nilsson, they may well be related. Hailing from Sweden the band is a ‘project’ with members of Angleine and Hion Martell, which unfortunately didn’t help me much either. Therefore, let’s dive in and see what unfolds.

Opening with ‘Day Job’, it is a melodic riff-driven rocker. The vocals for me sounded a little strange at first and I struggled a little to get into them and the whole album if I am honest. However, after a few spins they did grow on me and this opener reminds me of Disneyland After Dark (DAD) with guitar riff, vocals and quirky lyrics. Next up is ‘Digital Ghost’ which continues in the same vein as the opener but has a much catchier chorus bolstered with some neat banked backing vocals. The lead vocals sound a little Robin Zanderish which is no bad thing in my book. The feel changes slightly for ‘Turn Back Time’ which is a little more subtle with a more toned-down guitar sound and also has a Cheap Trick feel too it too. The vocals also sound a little different and could possibly be a different vocalist from the first two songs. Again, it has an infectious chorus. ‘Rush’ picks up the pace and returns very much to the same feel as the opening song. Rocking along at a reasonable pace it has an usual chorus and the song sounds classic DAD. The pace changes again for ‘Crystal Ball’ which is a ballad driven carried by acoustic and clean electric guitars before powering into the chorus, which while quite catchy isn’t as strong as those before it. In addition, for me the vocals sound rather uncomfortable during the verses but less so in the chorus and middle eight. Overall, it is quite disappointing and doesn’t quite work for me.

Heading into the back straight and ‘The Stuff That Dreams Are Made Of’ opens with a huge melodic guitar riff that wouldn’t be out of place on an Autograph album. This drops into a verse with picking guitar and an electronic drum beat before lifting into a great bridge then an absolutely awesome chorus. For me, this is the stand-out track on the album and is real classic melodic guitar-driven rock. ‘Life in the City’ is next and is for me the weakest song on the album. Right from the opening bars the song just fails to capture you at all and rarely gets out of first gear apart from around the harmony guitars and solo which are reminiscent of Thin Lizzy. A real anti-climax after Stuff That Dreams Are Made Of. However, ‘Days of Independence’ gets the album back on track. This is a slightly clichéd mid-paced rocker that powers along with great melodic guitar and another great chorus. The penultimate track is ‘Bend’ which a big blues-inspired guitar riff which comes down to a neat dampened riff which lifts nicely into the chorus with an almost sliding vocal melody. While the bridge builds nicely, the building vocals could be stronger. It also a reggae style middle eight before picking up for the guitar solo. Last, but by no means least is ‘Home (Airport Blues)’ which closes the album as it started with a DAD sounding melodic rocker.

When I reviewed my notes for the above review, it seemed quite short and to the point. However, that is exactly what you get with the album with the majority of the songs well under four minutes, two of which are less than three minutes. It is direct and gets to the hooks quickly, although admittedly the vocals may be an acquired taste, as these grew on me as the album did. For the first couple of listens, I struggled with vocals and album. Granted, this album won’t make the guys household names, but I like to give any album a fair crack of the whip and persevered with it and found myself singing along with many of the songs. If you like your rock melodic and little tongue-in-cheek, give this a few spins and I sure it will draw you and you too will find yourself singing along.