There’s something about Leeds’ Brawlers that has been bothering venues and producing smiles for some time now. With their infectiously gruff pop tunes helping them build up both a considerably emphatic fan base but also a wholly justified hype for what they will do next. That next move is being delivered right now in the form of their full length debut ‘Romantic Errors Of Our Youth’, the follow up to last year’s direct ‘I Am A Worthless Piece Of Shit’, and things aren’t looking to be any less hysterical.
Clocking in at just under half an hour, Brawlers pack in an awful lot in to this release for such a short and snappy amount of time. Each track on ‘Romantic Errors…’ is filled to the brim with break neck riffs, contagious refrains and plenty of chart poking pop sensibility. The band has never been about taking things too seriously and stuck to their ultimatum of just having fun with their song writing. From the love letter warbling of ‘Annabelle’ to the bassy fuzz of ‘Holding Back’ and quick-fire joy of ‘Two Minutes’, the band execute everything with a childish grin, a jubilant bounce and heaps of optimism even if the subject matter is a little more heartbreak based.
As things roll on at a similarly frenzied pace with the self-analysis of ‘Nervous Breakdown’ and tight riffing of ‘Hives’, everything finally culminates in a thoroughly anthemic conclusion with ‘Romantic Errors’. With beer-drenched sing-alongs, a head bopping chorus and plenty of woah-ohs, it is a snapshot of everything that the band represents. Things may not always go as they should, you may be getting older everyday and will most probably do something you regret in the very near future, but really all you can do in the end is smile and make the most of it. What Brawlers bring to the table is the carefreeness that punk has found itself lacking recently, and they do so with so much exuberance that it cannot be ignored.
‘Romantic Errors Of Our Youth’ places tongue firmly in cheek, strips away the bullshit and takes things back to the pure simplicity of how fun music can be. It’s frantic and scruffy but also sticky sweet and melodic. With enough Northern charm and bubblegum riffs to woo the whole of Pontefract, Brawlers are proving that they are still one of the hottest properties doing the rounds on the underground circuit right now, and thanks to the arsenal of sun drenched bangers they have accumulated could be making contact with bigger venues very soon.
3.5/5
’Romantic Errors Of Our Youth’ by Brawlers is out now on Alcopop! Records.
Brawlers links: Facebook|Twitter|Bandcamp
Words by Jack Rogers (@JackMRog)
