The Firebrand

4-piece Mancunian indie with blues stylings

The Firebrand myspace

Gig Reviews

Academy Unsigned 235
Academy 3
12/01/08

This isn’t bad by any means, and this could easily have been 7 or 8. 5 is too low; The Firebrand are not an average band. But 6 is too high, purely because they have a potential that they don’t seem to be recognizing. The Firebrand’s music is either chord driven, or riff driven. They’re chord driven stuff is definitely average, and it doesn’t use the talents of their lead guitarist, who’s harmonies, leads and blues driven riffs tell tales of better days spent in fast cars, drenched in the sunshine of desert roads. ‘All Too Familiar’ and ‘Saturday Night’ were the standouts here, and unsurprisingly, showcased their blues influences best. ‘Roulette’ was well written and well performed, leading perfectly into ‘In All that Follow’s interesting tempo changes. A lack on consistency here makes things disappointing, but by sticking to what their good at and writing stomping blues rock tunes, this band could go far.5.5 but with time really could be 8/10Set list:

1. ‘The Wind is Up’
2. ‘I See Red’
3. ‘Just a Name’
4. ‘I’ve Been Watching You’
5. ‘Roulette’
6. ‘In All That Follows’
7. ‘All Too Familiar’
8. ‘Saturday Night’
9. ‘Starting a War’

Matt