Earlier this month, Cambridgeshire quartet Brave Liaison returned with a new EP – ‘Will This Hold Together?’.
Previously going under the moniker of Tom Lumley and The Brave Liaison, Will This Hold Together?’ sees the four-piece not only adopt a shorter name, it also sees them sharpen up their brand of alt-rock. Consisting of four tracks, it showcases Brave Liaison‘s anthemic prowess.
‘DEAD’ bursts out the gate with its pounding tempo and gritty undertone. ‘Better Off’ pulsates with Billy Stewart’ bass line and Jake Day’s wiry guitars complementing Tom Lumley’s catchy melodies. ‘Spike’ maintains the momentum with frantic energy and an impressive guitar solo. Whereas the closing track, ‘Situations’, is dense in its delivery with tight-knit drum work from Jonny Thompson, and a memorable hook from Lumley.
For the members of Brave Liaison, ‘Will This Hold Together?’ is the culmination of a reflective period for all involved. “Will This Hold Together? is an EP that feels very fitting not just for ourselves as a band, and as individuals, but also to the current circumstances the world feels to be in right now,” explained Brave Liason. “For us, it sums up our situations over the last few years. We feel a lot of people will be able to relate to these songs and the general feeling that everything is on the brink of falling to pieces. We had the opportunity of working with Adrian Bushby (Foo Fighters, Muse) on the EP and we’re so happy with how the songs have come together. The raw energy we managed to obtain in the recordings really resembles the hard truths within the meaning of the songs themselves.”
To give us a better insight into the four tracks that make up ‘Will This Hold Together?’, Brave Liason have penned this ‘Track Guide’ piece for Already Heard.
Dead
‘Dead’ is a song about feeling left out, unseen, lonely and living life on the sidelines. A feeling most people can probably relate a period of their lives to. It’s a topic that’s being talked about more now since the pandemic as it’s said that we are experiencing an “epidemic of loneliness”.
Better Off
This song is about struggling to come to terms with what’s done is done. Someone you considered close walks out of your life and seemingly erases you from theirs. This song attempts to translate the internal confusion that the situation causes.
Spike
This one is about a recurring conversation that never ends well. When you repeatedly find yourself having the same conversation with someone but it never comes to a construction close and instead ends in emotional turmoil every time. Saying things in the heat of the moment and then afterwards feeling like you’ve let yourself and the other person down by acting like that towards them.
Situations
Quite simply, ‘Situations’ is about anxiety and panic attacks. How draining anxiety is and how debilitating panic attacks are, and how they stop you basically doing anything because you can’t function when you lose control of yourself. The line “if I feel like running can I call you” is about the person you go to when you’re in a state of panic.
‘Will This Hold Together?’ by Brave Liasion is out now on Fort Records.