Originally Written for GreenShoeLace

Ted Leo and the Pharmacists have created one of the best albums this year that I’ll never listen to again. The Brutalist Bricks is, according to the pre-release press interviews, a bit of a return to the roots for Ted, a reexamination of the 90s DC Post Hardcore scene in which Ted found his first successes. You can certainly hear it in the songs themselves as he pulls elements from nearly every facet of what is traditionally thought of as the DC Scene. From politically aware hardcore, to more artful and introspective songs of the current batch of indie rockers and even pulling threads of DC’s particular brand of Souled Out Ska while never losing the distinctive Ted Leo sound or craft beneath the weight of homage.

While the album samples a lot of genres it sometimes feels that he doesn’t quite get them right or rather pulls the half formed themes as though the band reached into a band of genre signifiers and tooled whatever they had atop what they had written. “Mourning in America” is a big contender for this as it throws strong Dance Hall style bass pressure under Ted’s soft voice and then throws in an air horn and dubbed scratch sample that sounds more like production wankery rather than an honest attempt to bring those naturally into the song. Though there are also times when they get it just so right. For example, “Woke Up In Chelsea” contains almost all the elements of 70s radio rock with flange effects, slightly strained singing, an oft repeated chorus masquerading as a hook and it managed to clock in at under four minutes with a fading repeated refrain for the last thirty seconds giving the morning crew DJ plenty of time for lead in.

This is possibly the greatest compliment and the gravest insult to the The Brutalist Bricks. It’s honestly a bit like listening to your local alternative station in the 90s, a mix of everything alternative with no central unifying thesis around which to coalesce. These songs are not BAD. They’re well crafted and well executed but they are musical wallpaper inspiring nothing more than recognition as iTunes cycles through the play list one more time.

There are many points in the album where I could hear the greatness peeking out and threatening to pull me into the fan camp, but the next song would come along and just smash all the goodwill that had been so carefully built just moments ago. If you’re a fan of Ted Leo and The Pharmacists, then this will be either a total failure as it’s not another Hearts of Oak or your favorite album of the year. If you’re not a fan of Ted Leo, The Brutalist Bricks probably won’t change your mind.

Category : album Review