A band that has caught much more than just my own personal preference over the last couple of months are newcomers Dora Brilliant. The band came to fruition as a result of two members previously playing in a band called HOST, who were signed to Hitback records (home of indie favourites Spearmint). They've flown under the radar since then but recently released their impressive second album.
Managing to garner a fair amount of acclaim and success they earned themselves some NME reviews and an XFM session to be proud of. They also landed the runners up position in the Dazed And Confused young talent, the same position none other than Bloc Party placed in said competition back in 2004.
An album was released under the title 'Minimum Listening Guarantee' with the majority of tracks featuring alternate/complex tuning experimentation, something which caused havoc in taking the tracks to the live circuit. Unfortunately, HOST split up in 2005. I say unfortunately, but this lead on to the band I’d like to share with you now.
A few years later, pen was put to paper again and along comes Dora Brilliant with a brand new bassist brought into the equation. Production remained in the hands of the very talented Anthony Chapman, who used to be the DJ Collapsed Lung of 'Eat My Goal' fame. The band have stuck with him through thick and thin as they say he loves their music and his deconstruct/reconstruct approach to producing really works for them.
They got off to a great start, with an immediate feature for Dazed And Confused in their A&E section, based on a really stripped down homemade demo. Their first album 'Oubliette' followed at the end of 2010 but, despite the band pushing it quite hard, it didn't seem to attract much attention (even though it came with some free 3D specs).
They've continued on and the results of their recently released second album, 'Real Bombing', are starting to reap the benefits. It’s already received a fair few rave reviews and is enjoying being spun on some excellent radio stations including BBC 6Music, Artrocker Radio, Amazing Radio, and Phoenix FM.
The band describe their style as “CHOP CHOP SOUND” and that’s probably about the best possible description of their latest album 'Real Bombing'. The style of the album is pretty consistent throughout with pummelling pop/punk taking centre stage, so much so that not one of the seven tracks gives the listener time for a breather - not that you'll be wanting one.
With zany lyrical content pondering on multifarious topics such as the second Earl of Essex and corruption of the flesh, strap yourself in for a wacky ride although this mustn’t be mistaken for inanity. The band's lyrical finesse is more than captivating, and strongly backed up with a tight and melodically claustrophobic, guitar-heavy sound.
One of the EP’s highlights is the recently released single 'Talk It Up' which bursts with even more energy than a shot of Red Bull. The band are at their tightest here and it's clear that they are given a massive helping hand from producer Anthony Chapman. My only qualm? There are only seven tracks but beggars can’t be choosers - however I do beg the band to get a fully fledged Long Player out as soon as possible.
Find more info and purchase 'Real Bombing' at Bandcamp.
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