A Brief Smile – R.E.S.T.
Preceding bands that dominated the Electro-Industrial rock scene of 2007, A Brief Smile were sadly ignored for their riveting debut R.E.S.T., a fascinating blend of electric, emo and noise rock.
The songs are relatively straight forward in structure, though they make up for it in performance and execution. The ferocious guitar work on ...And So It Begins is powerful, imaginative, and captivating. Most impressive is the production; the vocals, guitars and drums are beautifully clean, though not in a bland radio-friendly manner. Beneath the quiet, dreamy walls of sound is a fairly standard rock song on Count Me Out, though the production is mesmerising; it alone elevates the album to the new heights. The album is not entirely consistent, though; the songs Trouble and The Machine are typical of a 2000’s rock project. While they envelope an admirable amount of noise, they are borderline generic and less impactful than their counterparts. Thankfully, their compositions are still playful, and they both feature a tremendous climax.
R.E.S.T. is more poppy and straightforward than other high-ranking albums on Deko.fm, though it’s important to judge A Brief Smile’s EP in the time it was released; 2006. The album is exceptionally high in quality, and it’s sound design has stood the rough test of time. Before Bandcamp was oversaturated with every asshole’s lo-fi band on the planet, it was a potential avenue for upcoming skilled artists to distribute their music. Unfortunately, like every good avenue that gets popular, the site turned to rubbish. R.E.S.T. is a sad reminder of how good it could have been.
Really Good
Listen to it here:
A Brief Smile – R.E.S.T.
