California’s Brolly were greeted with an outcry of love and excitement when they announced last month that they will be releasing their forthcoming EP ‘Wolfe’ this September. A favourite band of ours here at Bitter Sweet Symphonies, so when heard the news of course we were elated.
Opening track ‘They Run, They Hide’ re-introduces us to what Brolly do best – ambient, entrancing soundscapes that ebb and flow with softly sung harmonies and the smouldering vocal tones of Mr. Jake Ithurburn. Quickly gathering pace and momentum ‘They Run, They Hide’ is akin to the driving force of Matthew and the Atlas’ ‘Pale Sun Rose’.
Moving on, we are greeted with the heavenly tones of ‘Ghost Town’, rich swelling guitars sing alongside growing crescendos of subtle percussion and breezy atmospherics.
Resting neatly at the centre of the EP is title track and lead single ‘Wolfe’. You might say as the other tracks cocoon around this, you know it’s going to be something special. ‘Wolfe’ certainly delivers on that promise. Like Coldplay have established over the course of their career, the power of subtlety intertwined with raw emotion can be mighty when used correctly and Brolly definitely have mastered this technique.
‘Wolfe’ is haunting. When Ithurburn belts out “When did our light burn out?” we feel his intensity right where it hurts, the agony of the truth really does burn sweetly. It has this ethereal quality to it with its chorus of children singing harmoniously in the background, ‘Wolfe’ really is a triumph.
After being ripped to smithereens by ‘Wolfe’, we are calmly pieced back together by ‘Fragile’. A delicate acoustic guitar driven track layered with more deliriously warming harmonies and rich lyricism, it’s like sitting next to a fire. ‘Fragile’ is about fully submitting to our emotions so we can understand life and our relationships with each other better, to learn more about ourselves.
Wolfe burns bright like an incandescent light. As a sophomore EP, it definitely has a sheen that their début didn’t have, although they’ve been very meticulous and successful in not loosing the raw essence of their music. Wolfe shows a vigour for life that’s invigorating and breathtaking to experience, although at times it’s sorrowful and melancholy (‘Love Grew Legs’) but it wouldn’t be real if they didn’t bare those emotions too.
Wolfe slightly feels indulgent, but luckily for us it doesn’t mean that we’re packing on the pounds, its melody-rich essence and strong beating heart keeps the listener alert yet comforted at the same time.
‘Wolfe’ will be released on 23rd September.
Tracklisting: 1- They Run, They Hide, 2- Ghost Town, 3- Wolfe, 4- Fragile, 5- Love Grew Legs
