Chris Brokaw — „Puritan“ (Jan. 15, 2021)
Ξ Vždy vynalézavý a chameleonský Chris Brokaw se spokojeně vrací se svým prvním sólovým celovečeráčkem, založeným na písních od roku 2012. Je těžké nepředstavit veterána Chrisa Brokawa dosud nezasvěceným, aniž byste podrobně popsali alespoň některá z jeho legendárních životopisů — která zahrnuje stáže v Codeine, Come, Pullman, Consonant, The New Year, Dirt Music a Charnel Ground vedle spolupráce s: Geoff Farina, Steve Wynn, Evan Dando, Thurston Moore, Willard Grant Conspiracy a mnoho dalších. To mělo být ještě předtím, než jste se vůbec dostali k jeho sólové kariéře on/off/on.
Ξ Chris Brokaw je dokonalý undergroundový rockový hudebník. V kariéře přes třicet a více let působil v nesčetných kapelách (Come, Codeine, Charnel Ground, The Lemonheads, abychom jmenovali alespoň některé) byl sidemanem všem, od Thurstona Moora po GG Allina, bil a mlátil nespočet pódií na nonstop turné a hrál na více než sedmdesáti nahrávkách, včetně LP, EP, kazet a zvukových stop. „Puritán“ je jeho desáté sólové LP a je to zabiják. Od hypnotického opakování na prodlouženém instrumentálním výstupu otvíráku „Puritan“, zraněné milosti „Depending“, až po křehkou krásu duetu ve stylu Velvets s Claudií Groom: „I’m The Only One For You“, a duch Alexe Chiltona, který se ozývá skrze „The Bragging Rights“, na bouři typu „Periscope Kids“, podobnou GBV, končící minimálním brnkáním ve své coververzi zesnulého Karla Hendrickse z éry Neila Younga na „On The Beach“ — „The Night Has No Eyes“ — vytvořil Brokaw podhodnocené mistrovské dílo. Puritán je album, které je plné bolesti a znovuzrození, rezignace a radosti, což je druh díla, který je tak potřebný, ale dnes příliš vzácný. Klasika zepředu dozadu. (Mark Lanegan, 2020) Location: Cambridge, Massachusetts
Album release: January 15, 2021
Record Label: 12XU
Duration: 37:40
Tracks:
1. Puritan 5:51
2. Depending 4:07
3. I’m The Only One For You 4:23
4. The Bragging Rights 2:24
5. I Can’t Sleep 1:28
6. The Heart Of Human Trafficking 7:16
7. Periscope Kids 4:58
8. Report To An Academy 2:51
9. The Night Has No Eyes 4:22
The Chris Brokaw Rock Band :
Ξ Chris Brokaw — guitar, vocals
Ξ Dave Carlson — bass guitar
Ξ Pete Koeplin — drums
with special guests :
Ξ Tricia Adelmann — vocal on “I Can’t Sleep”
Ξ Claudia Groom — vocal on “I’m The Only One For You”
Ξ Thalia Zedek — vocal, guitar on “The Bragging Rights” and “The Night Has No Eyes”
Credits:
Ξ Recorded and mixed by Andy Hong at Kimchee, Cambridge MA 2019/2020. “Bragging Rights” and “The Night Has No Eyes”, recorded by Britt Robischeaux at Cloudland, Fort Worth, TX, November 2019. Mastered at Chicago Mastering Service by Matthew Barnhart.
Ξ All songs written by Chris Brokaw except “The Night Has No Eyes” (written by Karl Hendricks, lyrics used by permission). LP layout and design by James Keeler. Front cover photo by Sasha Syeed. Band photo by Andy Hong. Chico photo by Brokaw.
Ξ Thank you: Gerard Cosloy, Andy, Britt, Griz, James K., Jimena + Emiliano, Anna + Ruthie, Julie + Bob Noyes, Erin/Jonah/Bootsie/Benjie/Dee + David Koeplin, Steve Lowenthal/VDSQ, Baptiste + Anoc, Codeine + Come, Possum, Ferries!, Charnel Ground, Lemonheads, Findlay Sandsmark, Pentagon Booking, Undertow, Born Music, my family, my friends, my pupils, all the cool clubs, all the cool people, thank you for being so cool.
Review
Jennifer Kelly
Ξ★ Chris Brokaw is one of the unsung heroes of independent music, a mainstay in groundbreaking bands like Come and Codeine, a vital contributor to Consonant and the New Year, a sideman to Thurston Moore and Evan Dando, a drummer, a bass player, a guitarist, an all~around good guy, whose work is always good and sometimes surprising. Puritan is his first solo rock album in a while, following on the exquisite but decidedly more experimental End of the Night. It picks up, in some ways, where 2005’s Incredible Love left off, with moody, anthemic guitar work, a couple of cameos from Thalia Zedek and some excellent, passionately delivered rock songs.
Ξ★ Brokaw works with a three~piece here, Dave Carlson on rumbling, ruminative bass and Peter Koeplin punching through on drums (both Boston~area players apparently, but without much internet trail). Brokaw himself plays guitar and sings in a fine, unvarnished tenor that occasionally wavers but is always forthright and true. He is a very good guitar player, coming at songs in a variety of ways, in a post~rocking, wall of sound onslaught in “Puritan,” with a melancholic lyricism in “Depending,” in a furious melodic jangle for “I Can’t Sleep” or in a dissonant, distorted howl in stand~out, “The Heart of Human Trafficking.”
Ξ★ This latter track is the clear center of Puritan, bringing together full~throated rock anarchy, the high level of skill and the moral conscience that distinguishes Brokaw’s best work. On one level, it’s an opportunity for Brokaw and the whole band to kick loose in free~flowing jam. On another, it’s an impassioned statement about something that’s really important. It’s the longest cut on the album, and it has the kind of wild Crazy Horse~ish abandon that suggests a monster live song (if we ever get back to live songs).
Ξ★ A few guests appear on Puritan. Claudia Groom joins in the waltz~time sweetness of “I’m the Only One for You,” and Tricia Adelmann adds some fetching leads and harmonies to the rambunctious “I Can’t Sleep.” Thalia Zedek’s unmistakable alto weaves through gentle, pensive “Bragging Rights” and the Karl Hendricks cover, “The Night Has No Eyes” (she also plays guitar). But in all cases, the guests and the band itself, feel like a natural extension of Brokaw’s musical intention, as if they were people already in his life who stopped by in a casual way to help him get his songs out. And, indeed, though the songs vary from track to track, there’s a unity of vision in Puritan. Brokaw works with a lot of people in a lot of different contexts, but this feels uniquely his.
Ξ★ There are artists who flare up quickly, click with the zeitgeist and then fade out. And then there are artists like Chris Brokaw, who do the work year after year, getting better and more focused on what they want to do, making beautiful, meaningful music and nonetheless flying consistently (and undeservedly) under the radar. Puritan is as good a record as Brokaw has ever made, which is saying something.
Ξ★ https://dustedmagazine.tumblr.com/post/640755487138299904/chris-brokaw-puritan-12xu
BC: https://chrisbrokaw12xu.bandcamp.com/album/puritan
Review, Adrian: https://concreteislands.com/chris-brokaw-puritan-12xu/
Website: http://www.chrisbrokaw.com/
Label: https://12xu.net/
Ξ Vždy vynalézavý a chameleonský Chris Brokaw se spokojeně vrací se svým prvním sólovým celovečeráčkem, založeným na písních od roku 2012. Je těžké nepředstavit veterána Chrisa Brokawa dosud nezasvěceným, aniž byste podrobně popsali alespoň některá z jeho legendárních životopisů — která zahrnuje stáže v Codeine, Come, Pullman, Consonant, The New Year, Dirt Music a Charnel Ground vedle spolupráce s: Geoff Farina, Steve Wynn, Evan Dando, Thurston Moore, Willard Grant Conspiracy a mnoho dalších. To mělo být ještě předtím, než jste se vůbec dostali k jeho sólové kariéře on/off/on.
Ξ Chris Brokaw je dokonalý undergroundový rockový hudebník. V kariéře přes třicet a více let působil v nesčetných kapelách (Come, Codeine, Charnel Ground, The Lemonheads, abychom jmenovali alespoň některé) byl sidemanem všem, od Thurstona Moora po GG Allina, bil a mlátil nespočet pódií na nonstop turné a hrál na více než sedmdesáti nahrávkách, včetně LP, EP, kazet a zvukových stop. „Puritán“ je jeho desáté sólové LP a je to zabiják. Od hypnotického opakování na prodlouženém instrumentálním výstupu otvíráku „Puritan“, zraněné milosti „Depending“, až po křehkou krásu duetu ve stylu Velvets s Claudií Groom: „I’m The Only One For You“, a duch Alexe Chiltona, který se ozývá skrze „The Bragging Rights“, na bouři typu „Periscope Kids“, podobnou GBV, končící minimálním brnkáním ve své coververzi zesnulého Karla Hendrickse z éry Neila Younga na „On The Beach“ — „The Night Has No Eyes“ — vytvořil Brokaw podhodnocené mistrovské dílo. Puritán je album, které je plné bolesti a znovuzrození, rezignace a radosti, což je druh díla, který je tak potřebný, ale dnes příliš vzácný. Klasika zepředu dozadu. (Mark Lanegan, 2020) Location: Cambridge, Massachusetts
Album release: January 15, 2021
Record Label: 12XU
Duration: 37:40
Tracks:
1. Puritan 5:51
2. Depending 4:07
3. I’m The Only One For You 4:23
4. The Bragging Rights 2:24
5. I Can’t Sleep 1:28
6. The Heart Of Human Trafficking 7:16
7. Periscope Kids 4:58
8. Report To An Academy 2:51
9. The Night Has No Eyes 4:22
The Chris Brokaw Rock Band :
Ξ Chris Brokaw — guitar, vocals
Ξ Dave Carlson — bass guitar
Ξ Pete Koeplin — drums
with special guests :
Ξ Tricia Adelmann — vocal on “I Can’t Sleep”
Ξ Claudia Groom — vocal on “I’m The Only One For You”
Ξ Thalia Zedek — vocal, guitar on “The Bragging Rights” and “The Night Has No Eyes”
Credits:
Ξ Recorded and mixed by Andy Hong at Kimchee, Cambridge MA 2019/2020. “Bragging Rights” and “The Night Has No Eyes”, recorded by Britt Robischeaux at Cloudland, Fort Worth, TX, November 2019. Mastered at Chicago Mastering Service by Matthew Barnhart.
Ξ All songs written by Chris Brokaw except “The Night Has No Eyes” (written by Karl Hendricks, lyrics used by permission). LP layout and design by James Keeler. Front cover photo by Sasha Syeed. Band photo by Andy Hong. Chico photo by Brokaw.
Ξ Thank you: Gerard Cosloy, Andy, Britt, Griz, James K., Jimena + Emiliano, Anna + Ruthie, Julie + Bob Noyes, Erin/Jonah/Bootsie/Benjie/Dee + David Koeplin, Steve Lowenthal/VDSQ, Baptiste + Anoc, Codeine + Come, Possum, Ferries!, Charnel Ground, Lemonheads, Findlay Sandsmark, Pentagon Booking, Undertow, Born Music, my family, my friends, my pupils, all the cool clubs, all the cool people, thank you for being so cool.
Review
Jennifer Kelly
Ξ★ Chris Brokaw is one of the unsung heroes of independent music, a mainstay in groundbreaking bands like Come and Codeine, a vital contributor to Consonant and the New Year, a sideman to Thurston Moore and Evan Dando, a drummer, a bass player, a guitarist, an all~around good guy, whose work is always good and sometimes surprising. Puritan is his first solo rock album in a while, following on the exquisite but decidedly more experimental End of the Night. It picks up, in some ways, where 2005’s Incredible Love left off, with moody, anthemic guitar work, a couple of cameos from Thalia Zedek and some excellent, passionately delivered rock songs.
Ξ★ Brokaw works with a three~piece here, Dave Carlson on rumbling, ruminative bass and Peter Koeplin punching through on drums (both Boston~area players apparently, but without much internet trail). Brokaw himself plays guitar and sings in a fine, unvarnished tenor that occasionally wavers but is always forthright and true. He is a very good guitar player, coming at songs in a variety of ways, in a post~rocking, wall of sound onslaught in “Puritan,” with a melancholic lyricism in “Depending,” in a furious melodic jangle for “I Can’t Sleep” or in a dissonant, distorted howl in stand~out, “The Heart of Human Trafficking.”
Ξ★ This latter track is the clear center of Puritan, bringing together full~throated rock anarchy, the high level of skill and the moral conscience that distinguishes Brokaw’s best work. On one level, it’s an opportunity for Brokaw and the whole band to kick loose in free~flowing jam. On another, it’s an impassioned statement about something that’s really important. It’s the longest cut on the album, and it has the kind of wild Crazy Horse~ish abandon that suggests a monster live song (if we ever get back to live songs).
Ξ★ A few guests appear on Puritan. Claudia Groom joins in the waltz~time sweetness of “I’m the Only One for You,” and Tricia Adelmann adds some fetching leads and harmonies to the rambunctious “I Can’t Sleep.” Thalia Zedek’s unmistakable alto weaves through gentle, pensive “Bragging Rights” and the Karl Hendricks cover, “The Night Has No Eyes” (she also plays guitar). But in all cases, the guests and the band itself, feel like a natural extension of Brokaw’s musical intention, as if they were people already in his life who stopped by in a casual way to help him get his songs out. And, indeed, though the songs vary from track to track, there’s a unity of vision in Puritan. Brokaw works with a lot of people in a lot of different contexts, but this feels uniquely his.
Ξ★ There are artists who flare up quickly, click with the zeitgeist and then fade out. And then there are artists like Chris Brokaw, who do the work year after year, getting better and more focused on what they want to do, making beautiful, meaningful music and nonetheless flying consistently (and undeservedly) under the radar. Puritan is as good a record as Brokaw has ever made, which is saying something.
Ξ★ https://dustedmagazine.tumblr.com/post/640755487138299904/chris-brokaw-puritan-12xu
BC: https://chrisbrokaw12xu.bandcamp.com/album/puritan
Review, Adrian: https://concreteislands.com/chris-brokaw-puritan-12xu/
Website: http://www.chrisbrokaw.com/
Label: https://12xu.net/