There’s plenty of long departed and unsung heroes in Punk, but of all present and correct in 2010, Ted Leo is easily one of the most qualified and prolific to be burdened with that label.
I stumbled across his current band the Pharmacists through the Lookout! records website whilst checking out Common Rider, and from the second I got hold of a copy of ‘Shake the Sheets’ I’ve been completely hooked.
It’s so hard to put a finger on how exactly how to describe the band to someone who’s never heard them – something like a mash up of classic American rock, 80’s Punk and ‘mainstream’ blues with vocal melodies that tend to fuse themselves to the part of your brain that controls the humming reflex.
‘The Brutalist Bricks’ is the band’s debut release for Matador – and carries the trademark intricacy in instrumentation and melody that is to be expected from previous efforts, whilst bringing plenty of subtle new things to the table. Songs like ‘Bottled in Cork’ and ‘Even Heroes Have to Die’ are classic Pharmacists with a slightly heavier nod towards the likes of Springsteen, and it’s probably here that the album has it’s shining moments.
As with many from bands that like to cross styles over ‘The Brutalist Bricks’ makes most sense as a whole record. While Leo’s distinctive vocals take a bit of getting used to if you’re a new listener, you’ll be drawn in by the brilliant songwriting before you know it.
After a few listens, ‘The Brutalist Bricks’ is right up there with “best of the rest” from the back catalogue ‘Shake the Sheets’ lyrically and musically, and it won’t be escaping my headphones for a long time yet.