THE BREW

The Brew hail from the North East of England and are made up of vocalist and guitarist Jason Barwick and, somewhat unusually, the father and son rhythm section of bassist Tim Smith and drummer Kurtis Smith. ‘The Third Floor’ is the band’s fourth album release, their second on the Jazzhaus label. They have a large following in Germany, Spain and Poland and have appeared on German TV. This Chris West (who has worked with Richard Ashcroft and Status Quo) produced release opens with ‘Sirens of War’ which comes across as a heavier take on U2’s ‘Bullet The Blue Sky’. Next up is a heavy, bluesy track ‘Six Dead’ which is followed by a cut with a looser feel and a catchy refrain, ‘Reached The Sky’. A gentler approach is adopted on the next song, ‘See You Once Again’ which is a pleasant acoustic number and is the first hint of the light and shade that permeates this release. There is an effective mix of styles. The heavier, up tempo tracks, such as ‘Master And The Puppeteer’, which is drenched in reverb and has a 60s feel, and ‘Imogen Molly’ which would not be out of place on The Cult’s ‘Electric’ album, stand well alongside more laid back acoustic tracks (‘Hard Times’) and even a touch of psychedelia in ‘Crimson Crystal Raindrops’ – even the title sounds psychedelic! According to the press release that accompanies this effort, the band have forged their name with their live shows. They will be touring the UK in January next year in support of this record and they may be worth catching but, until then, you could do worse than check out the tracks on this commendable album.

LABEL:

FORMAT:

Jazzhaus Records

Album

THE THIRD FLOOR

Review by Dave Uphill

RUNNING TIME:

42:30

RELEASE DATE:

13th August 2012

TRACK LISTING

1) Sirens of War
2) Six Dead
3) Reached the Sky
4) See You Once Again
5) Master and the Puppeteer
6) The Third Floor
7) Piper of Greed
8) Crimson Crystal Raindrops
9) Hard Times
10) Imogen Molly
11) Let It Back

COUNTRY OF ORIGIN:

UK

"The heavier, up tempo tracks...stand well alongside more laid back acoustic tracks...and even a touch of psychedelia..."