by Charlie Teasdale

Et Tu Bruce 'Suburban Sunshine' (Worldwide)

London band release debut album.

 

Et Tu Bruce 'Suburban Sunshine' (Worldwide)

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London band Et Tu Brucé's first single 'This City/Never Seen You Cry' has been championed all over the airwaves, with BBC6 and XFM both talking it up, so let's see if the album is as good...

The band's own brand of soft rock has been described as 'where West London meets West Coast' and likened to the Byrds and the Beach boys, and that 'summer of love' surf sound is clear throughout the album. However , the constant harmonising, pleasant guitar and general carefree mood of the album becomes a little, grating.

There's a Britpop sound to 'Suburban Sunshine', but it's more Babybird than Blur. It's not folky enough to be called folk, and not heavy enough to be called rock 'n' roll, so in that sense Et Tu Brucé have a unique sound! Ultmately, the album doesn't pack much of a musical punch and gets pretty old pretty quickly, it even becomes a bit embarrassing during track 6, 'Never Say Trevor Again'. Is there still a market for cheeky comedy pop? It's a shame, as the band are clearly skilled musicians, and singer Matthew O'Toole's lyrics are generally pretty good.

Highlights from the album include opener 'Dress Me Up in Bruises' and second single 'Stars Fall', even if the latter does sound a bit like the intro to a daytime soap.

It's nothing ground breaking, but 'Suburban Sunshine' is pleasant, harmony laden pop music; so if you dig that crazy sound, get involved.

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