Back in August I saw Black Sabbath. It ruled, and my life will never be the same. While me and my buddies were out camping at the concert site, we had our nearest neighbors hang out with us for most of the time. They were two 40-something dudes from Portland and we spent hours swapping music recommendations and stories. One band they recommended was Burning Brides, so in honor of Kenny and Larry, I'm reviewing Burning Brides' 2008 album Anhedonia.
Burning Brides are a Hard Rock band from Philadelphia, and while I'd never heard of them until this weekend, they've toured with several of my favorite bands, including The White Stripes, Queens of the Stone Age, Mastodon and even Peaches. The band is mainly comprised of lead singer and guitarist Dimitiri Coats and his wife Melanie on bass. Anhedonia is a 13 track affair, with the majority of songs within the 3 minute or under range, which is something I always enjoy. As much as I like songs that go longer, I think it's sometimes more interesting to see what a band can some up with in such a short time frame. An example of this is the second track, Summer Leaves, which has a cool riff and is supported by a QOTSA style vocal, and it comes in at two minutes and one second. It's in and out in two minutes and I still find it incredibly memorable.
The whole album feels kind of like a mix between QOTSA and Foo Fighters, but never as hard rockin' or distinctive as either. This isn't exactly a bad thing, as both of those bands are led by very recognizable people who keep their distinctive style no matter what they do. So on Anhedonia, Burning Brides have seemed to capture what makes both bands good that doesn't encapsulate either of those band's most prominent features.
I think my favorite song might be Fire Escape, it might also be the most Foo Fighters'-y track the album has to offer. The riff is just really nice and light and Dimitri is doing a total Dave Grohl vocal melody. It's just...pleasant. I think that's my overall feeling of this album. It's not going to win any awards for being unique, but it's just nice. It's a band that knows exactly where they want to be and what they want to accomplish and them going for it, and you know what, more power to them. Not everyone is cut out to be the big, unique, stadium-filling band. Some bands are just good enough to be recognized by those other bands as just as good.
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