Brakes - Touchdown

Initially epitomising the side project (members culled from the line-ups of several C-list indie groups - check! Five-second novelty throwaway tracks - check! Limited commercial success - check!), through dogged touring and a pair of solid albums, Brakes have begun to make their mark. On Touchdown, their third LP, ex-British Sea Power keyboardist and singer-songwriter Eamon Hamilton leads his band through songs which mine the group's clear Pixies-meet-Pavement aesthetic for our aural pleasure. The influence of Black Francis and co. is glaringly obvious in Crush On You's skyscraping guitar figures and Eternal Return's wide-eyed country stomp through Nietzschean philosophy, yet the group's distinct Britishness, lent by Hamilton's breathy vocals and gleefully parochial lyrics, adds an unusual twist to the '90s alt-rock stylings. By dint of their idiosyncratic songwriting, Brakes are a band who stand outside the current indie trends; this allows them to build their strength and to become a powerful indie rock force on the margins. Not to be underestimated.