Brocarde
Good Attendance At Sunday School
Self Released
Nursery rhymes have always had a bit of a dark theme (Ring Around The Rosie purportedly references the plague) so Brocarde taking their vibe (not their content) fully into disturbing gothic musical territory shouldn’t come as a surprise. This is less a straightforward album and more a marrying of poetry and theatre with added crotchets and quavers. When you listen you are entering a whole different world where it’s best to just absorb it all. The writing sometimes sounds more like a movie score than anything conventional. In fact if it was turned into a cinematic work you can imagine something that sits between ‘The Crow’ and ‘The Labyrinth’ maybe with a touch of ‘Beetlejuice’ thrown in too. Brocarde is hitched to the ghost of a Victorian soldier after all! There are metal influences combining with goth (obviously), synth and classical, all beautifully done. The vocals range from spoken word, clean but menacing all the way to guttural roars. ‘Good Attendance At Sunday School’ is breathtakingly original making you hope the live show is just as utterly cool. This is escapism at its finest.
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Review by Gary Trueman