Bracket – Novelty Forever – Review

Bracket

Novelty Forever (Fat)
by Rich Romaine

Catchy, quirky, guitar-driven powerpop with moody, thoughtful lyrics and melodies to make your eyebrows arch. How often do you listen to melodic, kinda punky pop and say, “Gosh, now there’s an interesting chord progression. I didn’t see that coming at all.” Not to mention there’s a guitar riff in “The Evil Bean” that reminds me of The Knack. Since joining the Fat team full-time (after a few 7″s and the E is for Everything on Fat EP), Bracket seems to’ve slowed down. But Novelty Forever is produced by Fat Mike and Ryan Greene, still has the harmonies layered precariously atop one another, and has Marty’s ever-distinctive vocals, thus making it worthy of Fat, not to mention your attention. Actually, I prefer ’95’s 4-Wheel Vibe on Caroline, but that could be the rawer guitar sound, the livelier tempo, and the fact I know it by heart. New songs like “Last Day Sunday,” “Sour,” and “Optimist” have the catchiness, the oddity, and the energy to become memorable anthems.
(PO Box 193690 San Francisco, CA 94119)