For The Bravery, retro is the new modern. Not only is "Stir the Blood" a return-to-form album after the pop-rock oriented "The Sun And The Moon," it's even more entrenched in the '80s synth-pop style than their first album. The dark, driving bass lines and slick keyboards place the listener in a time machine and dial it back to the heyday of groups like New Order and Depeche Mode.
In general, The Bravery run with the synth-drenched instrumentation quite nicely, merging lo-fi vocals with polished studio production on the music itself. Additionally, the guitars that were present in their previous work are virtually obliterated in favor of rave-like synthesizer melodies. Most rock instrumentation is traded for a much more dance-friendly electro-pop structure.
Though the guitar isn't used as a supporting instrument as much, they still managed to sneak in a few guitar solos. The problem is that "Stir the Blood" isn't particularly suited for guitar rock. Though the guitar solos they play aren't necessarily bad, they feel very tacky and out of place. It feels like they're simply tossing in a guitar solo just to show off. It's not a particularly tasteful concept, and often taints otherwise good tracks.
Furthermore, the album is extremely repetitive. The rhythms and overall atmosphere of "Stir The Blood" are pretty homogeneous. So even though the songs are pretty good on their own, they don't play as well in an album format. Additionally, the singing technique generally consists of exaggerated goth-rock vocals that sound like they're coming through a megaphone. It actually sounds really cool most of the time, but it doesn't do much in the way of variation.
On a more positive note, The Bravery are no strangers to catchy melodies, and "Stir The Blood" is not without its rewarding tracks. The album's greatest strength lies in its explosive choruses. Songs with relatively downbeat verses are more than compensated for with powerful crescendos and pop anthem refrains. Songs like "Adored," "The Spectator" and "Jack-'O-Lantern Man" skillfully employ this technique, thus making them definitive highlights of the album.
Another high point that deserves a mention is the album's final track, "Sugarpill." It's an eerie, dejected closer, and it is the only song that deviates from the album's formulaic synth-pop. It is unfortunate that the band waited until the final track to vary their sound, because it's a very good song. It proves that The Bravery are capable of greater things than what they are presenting on this album.
At the end of the day, "Stir the Blood" is an album for the original fans. It's a return-to-form album, but its weakness lies in the fact that it overuses the original formula. It's not a particularly long album, clocking in at about 35 minutes, but its repetitive nature makes "Stir The Blood" seem like it could have been more concise. It's a fun listen, but it lacks the substance to be truly impressive.
Check out: "Stir the Blood," Sugarpill."
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