brillig
Reviewed by Monika Stasiak
Published: 29 April 2010
lp: the red coats
Hale to Brillig's first full (acoustic) feature offering! This is a brilliant album from a band bold enough to offer audiences something different. Brillig are story-tellers from another time who successfully channel wonderful elements of colonial era folk music for 21st Century audiences.
Brillig have been busy: they toured Germany in 2009 to rave reviews, and are heading to New Zealand in October 2010 for the Wellington Folk Festival. The Red Coats was first released overseas and its official (southern) launch in Adelaide is 1 May at the Singing Gallery in McLaren Vale. Previews were staged the 2010 Adelaide Fringe. Red Coats is produced by prominent South Australian Matt Hills, who has also worked with Wolf and Cub and The Lucksmiths.
Brillig are part-gothic, part-folk, combining an interesting variety of instruments to explore their style, which is bleak yet positive, dark yet stylish. 'Death at Sea' is the opening track that introduces audiences to the narrative focus of Brillig's work. Matt Swayne's plaintive vocals are reminscent of Brian Molko of Placebo, and his banjo is at its best on this track.
'The Old Captain' features piano accordian in full flight, and a rousing pub-style sing-a-long; this has a traditional North European feel. No surprise that German audiences are entranced by Brillig. Harmonica features strongly on 'Absinthe Makes the Heart Grow Fonder' and the whimsical bush-ballad 'Jack Davey'. Note that absinthe-related antics are a signature Brillig theme in both live and recorded formats. A 12-string acoustic guitar and solid bass work are also a staple: 'Assorted Fate' and 'Springtime in Tokyo' are among the most relaxing tracks, as well as the almost-instrumental 'Intermission', which cleverly provides some quiet breathing space.
Often compared with Nick Cave, tracks such as 'Bird from the Ashes' show why this is an obvious connection. Elizabeth Reid evokes Kylie Minogue's work with Cave on 'Wild Roses', and adds her own maturity and depth on 'Phantom's Theme'. Reid's voice adds both light and strength to the heavy darkness of Brillig's instrumental work. She also brings extraordinary instrumental work; her viola is a winding river on 'The Frozen Lake' and autoharp is spine-chilling haunting on 'Phantom's Theme'.
The Red Coats is a sensous onslaught of many styles, many instruments, and many tempos. Melancholic and soulful, it is complex, fun and addictive listening. Surely a sign of exciting things to come.
