THE BRAVERY > Stir the Blood

rs_stirtheblood

Videos by American Songwriter

THE BRAVERY

Stir the Blood

(ISLAND)

[Rating: 3 stars]

Some bands are like sharks, and they need to keep swimming to survive. Other bands are fine staying just where they are. The Killers are sharks. They took a gamble moving beyond the New Wave throwbacks of their breakout album and it paid off; they emerged a respected career band, one of the biggest alternative acts of their time. The Bravery, who have always resided in the commercial and critical shadow of The Killers, are not sharks. Their own efforts to prove themselves more than just another New Wave revival band on their sophomore album, The Sun and the Moon, weren’t nearly as sure-footed.

It’s to the band’s credit that they were self-aware enough to realize their new direction on The Sun and the Moon wasn’t working. On their third album, Stir the Blood, they return to the impeccably slick dance-rock of their debut, doubling down on the synthesizers from which they just recently sought to distance themselves. They do so not with their tail between their legs, but with their head held high, cranking out kinetic, fantastically catchy pop songs.

To be sure, there’s nothing remotely original here. Sam Endicott still mimics both the pouty, marble-mouthed moan and exaggerated howl of Robert Smith, and the songs are shamelessly patterned after their influences—Duran Duran, New Order and, much as The Bravery would probably deny it to the grave, The Killers (at least before The Killers took on the weight of the world). If Stir the Blood sounds overly familiar, that’s the point. While The Killers strive to become their generation’s U2, The Bravery are perfectly content staying in their comfort zone.