Brackish | photo by Jared C. Wood | courtesy of the artist
Brackish drops punky, refined Worlds EP just in time for their June tour
Philly punk group Brackish has just released their first new EP since last summer’s Coming Down, and it’s giving me all kinds of vibes. Brackish is like a punkier Modern Baseball meets The Front Bottoms. If you need a reference point in case you’ve never heard Brackish’s sound, here it is.
Unlike Coming Down, this new release isn’t bright. It’s angsty in the same sense that their last EP is, but it’s got a dark edge to it, and it’s working. It doesn’t feel overly dramatic or atypically punk, it just works. Singer Connor Byrne’s voice is incredibly punchy at parts while still managing to hone in on a more earnest and emotional tone when the mood shifts. There’s an overwhelming amount of something close to sadness and uncertainty clouding these songs, and it comes through incredibly well.
Right from the beginning, the first track “Sincerely” dives right in with a quick-paced introduction care of guitarist Tim Fitzpatrick, immediately throwing in the EP’s title with the line “world, what do I look like?” It’s a cool homage to throw at the listener right away. It sets the tone for the rest of the EP. As the rest of the tracks play out, there’s a gradual change of both mood and pace, reveling between dark and light, before ending finitely with “Rain,” a really beautiful and emphatic track that slows the listener down and brings them back to the ground after the rush of the previous songs. It’s the perfect ending.
Recorded by Andy Clark and Tom May (The Menzingers), and mastered by Rachel Lightner (Nervous Dater), you can feel the energy that went into this one. The progression of maturity just within a year between releases is evident. The soundscape is tighter, the vocals are cleaner, and that edge that they’ve been grasping for to set them apart has finally been attained.
Brackish plans to tour through June with New England-based Awakebutstillinbed, and hits the Trocadero Balcony on June 13th.