Girl at the Rock Shows

It’s a new year, which means new goals, and one of those goals for me is to get ahead of this enormous stack of music I have to review dating back literal years. I’m not going to go in order or anything like that because, for some reason, that makes this stack feel all the more daunting, so instead, I’m going to try and review at least one album a day and pick them just based off of what speaks to me and, today, ‘Bravo’ from Dive Brake is speaking to me.

‘Bravo’ kicks off with the incredibly catchy and intriguing “Pottery Barn .”Right away, I was pulled into a world of sounds that I didn’t quite recognize with this opening track, but I was also left lost in a world where groove reigns supreme. The unique tones and sounds that kick this song off quickly transform into a super fun grunge-inspired jam sound. I received this album in the form of a vinyl record, and I feel like the random pops that my needle (which probably needs to be replaced) gave to this song truly enhanced everything in such a perfect way giving this song a bit of a vintage hue that made the jam aspect of this opening track stand out even more.

“Space Rover” is one of the lengthier songs on this seven-song album at seven minutes long, but, unsurprisingly, Dive Brake fits so many sounds and styles into these seven minutes that they seem to flow by. This song has a bit clearer sound when compared to “Pottery Barn,” with an almost subtle jazz influence throughout the track. The beat of this song is complicated and catchy with an almost samba feel to it, and the vocals, like the overall sound, have a bit more of a silky smooth element to them rather than the more grunge influence I felt in the opening song. “Space Rover” is one of those daydreaming kinds of songs that lifts you off from your everyday life and into Dive Brake’s world. I don’t mean that this is the kind of song that goes unnoticed because that is far from the truth, but more that there is just so much happening that you start to create visuals in your head throughout this song, and, let me tell you, it’s a super fun journey to take.

Third up on this album is “All Hands,” I love how this song seems to have a bit more serious tone than the previous two songs. The beginning of this song almost has a sense of desperation behind the vocals before they fall into a more “do the best you can” feeling. That’s not how I would describe the actual vocals, of course. They actually have a super chill, almost reggae influence behind them, which leans into the jam band side of this band. I’m more talking about the message behind this powerful song. I’m not going to give away the storyline of this track or even attempt to transcribe all of the lyrics, but I will say that, lyrically, this song hit me, and it hit me hard, making it a great song a resilience that I will surely keep in my back pocket for those trying times that this year will surely hold for me.

Side A of this album closes out with “Skin,” which starts with a dizzying bass solo. Compared to the first three songs, this track feels simple, but it’s genius and perfectly wraps up this first side of the album. “Skin” has a bit more of a basic rock song feel to it, complete with jamming guitar solos and slamming drums. You still get Dive Brake’s signature vintage hue in this one, but out of everything I’ve heard so far, this is the first song I feel I can see the masses getting into. From 311 to Tool, I could make a million comparisons with this song, each being bigger than the last. “Skin” definitely has an arena quality to it, which had me so excited to turn the record over and see what else Dive Brake has in store for me with the final three tracks of ‘Bravo.’
Side B starts with “Intro (Island) .”This quick minute-and-a-half-long song is like a new introduction to this band. I’m not sure if it’s signaling a change in the album or what, but the ambient instrumentation in this song is eerie to a point where I would almost call it creepy. Sounds layer on top of each other to create a rainforest of discovery with every passing second until, in the end, it all just stops and makes way to “Line of Sight.”

“Line of Sight” hits you like a beam of sunlight after you travel through the trenches that is “Intro (Island)” and it’s truly a lovely moment. My favorite part of this song is definitely the guitar part. Although the vocals tell the story behind this track, the guitar sings just as much as the voice here. There’s an absolutely wailing and impressive guitar solo in this track that really caught my ear, and after that, I felt like I was just more turned into the guitar than anything else. I love the way that, after the crystal clear solo, the guitar moves into a distorted blast of sound again, telling a story with just notes, not words. It’s a brilliant showcase of musicianship but, more importantly, a great showing of talent, expression, and creativity. “Line of Sight” ends with a moody crash of cacophony before the album falls into the final track, “Attack of the 31st Century Killer Robot Wasps”.

Not only does this final track have the longest song title out of all of the songs on this album, it’s also the longest track at just over thirteen minutes long but like “Space Rover”, this is a fast moving track due to the genius composition of the song. As one would suspect, this lengthy track has many movements, with every passing moment giving you a different vibe and a different word to the story. I love that, although the final track and even though we have already seen so many different moods of Dive Brake, this final track finds more to show you, including more of a hip-hop influence, a bit more restraint with some of the instrumentation, and a slight flare for the dramatic when it comes to the movement between moods.

Like grunge? Dive Brake does it perfectly. Like jam-band music? Dive Brake does that too. Like more of a reggae influence to your music? Dive Brake gives that to you in ‘Bravo .’Like ripping guitar solos? You guessed it– Dive Brake has it. Long story short, there’s a little bit of everything in ‘Bravo’ from Dive Brake. It’s a genius work of art that is absolutely worthy of your time as we dive into the new year.

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