Chimpomatic

Brakes

The Luminaire, London

Brighton's Brakes dazzled a Myspace friendly crowd at Kilburn's The Luminaire last night with their country-punk antics. It was a night of great new music with Blood Red Shoes providing a truly memorable performance before hand, but when Brakes opened with the 30 second punch in the face of Hi How Are You you knew this was a band with more experience and confidence than anything that had gone before. Their timing was tight, their guitars loud and the shaved head of front-man Eamon Hamilton repeatedly displayed a near to bursting vein. Although old favorites like Heard About Your Band and All Night Disco Party from Give Blood sounded fantastic and caused frenzied cheers from the crowd, the songs from the new album Beatific Visions seemed fuller and more focused in comparison.

Album openers Hold Me In The River and Margherita had might and weight that made the blink-and-you'll-miss-them punk ditties seem like musings of a band long gone, but the soon-to-be live favorite was the vein throbbing, spit propelling onslaught of Porcupine or Pineapple?. Introduced as one of the songs they recorded on a recent trip to Nashville the line "Who won the war, what the fuck is it for?" was delivered with such jaw dropping venom that you wonder how these boys were received in those hallowed lands.

All in all Brakes displayed an energy and urgency that was great to behold in such an intimate venue and with a band full of look a-likes ranging from Goldie on vocals, an allergic Pete Doherty on guitar, Will Ferrell on bass and Chris Martin on drums Brakes put on one hell of a show that will keep your ears ringing and bleeding for some time to come.