Broken Records - Let Me Come Home
- Written by Andrew Seaton
Broken Records are one of those bands that attract a lot of labels. The NME described the indie rockers on the release of their first studio album, Until the Earth Begins to Part, as the ‘Scottish Arcade Fire’. Back in 2007 the band did 60 shows. All of this amounts to a concerted effort on Broken Records’ part to break into the big leagues; to stand alongside the likes of Interpol or Band Of Horses.
This ambition is reflected in Let Me Come Home in a real stadium rock sound; the band want, and indeed could on the back of this latest effort, to fill large venues. The opener, ‘A Leaving Song’, is a statement of intent in this sense; it starts with dirty guitars that justify the band citing Calexico’s Feast of Wire as an influence and works itself up into a frenzy later on with towering vocals. Frontman Jamie Sutherland proclaims loudly ‘I wanna feel alive’, and for the final crescendo openly screams out his excitement. The backing vocals are similarly epic; for a comparison look at what British Sea Power achieved on tracks such as ‘Waving Flags’ from Do You Like Rock Music?
The standout song is the brilliant ‘The Motorcycle Boy Reigns’, which sounds like something that could have fitted onto Interpol’s Turn On the Bright Lights with ease. It starts suitably ambient and by the chorus Sutherland is repeating the words, ‘We don’t know your name’, in a great display of his vocal talents resulting in a track that is as emotive as it is catchy.
Let Me Come Home maintains a high quality throughout. The L.P shows sophistication in its quieter moments as well as it does in its louder ones. Lyrically, Sutherland states that Let Me Come Home’s theme reflects ‘what was going on around me in the form of fears and concerns over making relationships work, and a need for security’. This dark mood is shown in tracks such as ‘I Used To Dream’ where Sutherland admits ‘I used to dream of leaving you, now I just sleep away the fear’; depressing and a tad self-indulgent yes, but the album never gets bogged down for too long or carries a too overtly melancholy feel all to the band’s credit.
If you feel disillusioned at the direction that Interpol and The National have taken this year then we would strongly urge you to take a listen to Broken Records’ latest effort. Let Me Come Home is a dark experience that draws on its Calexico and early Nick Cave influences effectively to deliver an indie rock record with considerable gravitas and sophistication.