The Wheel's Still In Spin: BrakesBrakesBrakes (The Brakes)

Release Date: 8 May 2007 (Rough Trade / World's Fair)

The Brakes’ The Beatific Visions was originally released in the UK in November of 2006 on Rough Trade Records. Since Rough Trade has worked a deal with World’s Fair to release their albums in the states, The Beatific Visions was finally released here this month. However, there was already a band in the US called The Brakes, so this album was released in this country by BrakesBrakesBrakes. The name alteration doesn’t change anything about this great album. It’s still full mostly of 2-minute songs that volley between punk, indie rock, and country influences.

Hold Me In The River (mp3)

Teddy Wasn’t Born Guilty

Teddy always wore a different old school shirt everyday to work. One day the white Ramones logo on the black t-shirt. The next day was an off white shirt with the Flying Burrito Brothers bubble style logo. Then there was the army green Guided By Voices one with the GBV beer bottle in a red circle and the words “My Kind Of Soldier.” If he wasn’t wearing the t-shirt of one of his favorite bands, he usually had a unique Western shirt with snap buttons. There was no telling where he got these shirts, but he seemed to have a closet full of them. No matter what shirt he was wearing, he almost always also wore his denim jacket.

It’s hard to explain the kind of energy Teddy embodied. Maybe he ate too many Snickers bars, maybe he was raised on Ritalin, maybe he did coke. Whatever the reason, he was full of wit, charisma, and genuine good spirit.

He worked at a national chain guitar store. On the speaker system in the retail store, an album played. It personified Teddy. It had the short quick spurts of humor and dynamism. It had the mixture of punk rock, country rock, and rock and roll. It was The Brakes’ The Beatific Visions.

From the first song, a 2-minute track called “Hold Me In The River,” the Pixies style indie punk sound was instantly noticeable. The main guitar riff pulled the song into the verses. There was a stab of humor in the first chorus as lead singer Eamon Hamilton sings “They say ‘Eamon tell us how to keep our garden growing’/ I say ‘Try lying on the grass thinking of Scarlett Johansson.’” Then the song ends a little more seriously with, “Let me know you’re alive/ There’s very little point in being here otherwise/ Can you tell me know, what is this love/ If it comes from above/ Why does it have to be so painful?”

“Margarita,” the second track, was a straight rock and roll song that also clocked in around 2 minutes. With its stop-start verses and layered choruses, Hamilton sang about modern politics of fear and sarcastically poked fun at it. “It’s here but it’s unclear just what it’s here for/ It’s clear it’s the fear keeps us under control.”

As the album quickly bounced from song to song and style to style, Teddy helped three people simultaneously. One person asked about the significance of coated guitar strings, another asked about the best distortion pedal, and a third wanted to know which Bob Dylan songbook was the most comprehensive. Teddy sold a pack of strings to the first customer while leading the second to try a used tube distortion pedal and grabbed the Dylan book that not only had his older standards but also included some of the newer songs like “Shooting Star.”

The third track, “If I Should Die Tonight,” was a country-tinged, quick song. Yep, another 2 minute, catchy song. It started with acoustic guitar and Tom White’s lead guitter lines full of classic country picking. Two lines best described the song’s implication. First, “I got a little stoned and I got a little paranoid.” Then, “Love is a good, good thing in an ungood world.”

Eamon Hamilton’s singing voice on this album seemed to modify as often as the song’s subjects. He sounded like a drunk Irishman – but only in timbre. His vocals weren’t slurred, but his voice occasionally cracked with the quality of a few pints of ale and a few shots of Irish whiskey. Later in the album, such as on the ballad “Isabel” or the countrified “On Your Side,” his voice sounded smooth and polished.

Teddy could help the kids who came in after high school, hopped up on energy drinks, ready to practice some riffs from the new post punk band of the time. He also had the ability to help grandmothers who were sent in with a Christmas wish list. Sometimes his non-stop personality mixed with absence of a visible pupil would rub someone the wrong way.

Most of the time Teddy’s personal life didn’t interfere with his work schedule. There was one day this wasn’t true. He didn’t show up for work or call in sick. It turns out he was pulled over for a DUI and spent the night in jail. When he came back to work, he explained his story with a laugh. He drove off the road and hit a tree. When the cop showed up, Teddy apparently didn’t realize the man was dressed in uniform. He said, “Hey, you gotta help me get my car out of here before the cops show up.”

With a similar sense of humor, The Brakes’ “Porcupine Or Pineapple” was just over a minute long. It punctuated repetitions of “Porcupine or pineapple” with “Ya-ouch” and “Spiky, spiky.” Ultimately, it was a humorous way of asking the chorus questions. “Who won the war/ Was it worth fight for” and “Who won the war/ What the fuck was it for.”

For the next few weeks, Teddy got a ride to and from work by his girlfriend. Suzie was a little hippie chick and perfect for Teddy’s personality. They balanced each other out. When the song “Beatific Vision” would play, Teddy would dance his way across the guitar floor, spinning around islands of amplifiers. With the lines “She wants to know existence exists” and “She says the afterlife is what you leave behind/ Gonna leave a lot of footprints, gonna take a lot of time,” this song may have reminded Teddy of his girlfriend.

Eventually Teddy had to take a day off work to go to court, but was back to work the following day. It turns he was pulled over right near the county line. One half of the city was in Adams County, the other in Douglas County. Technically he was pulled over in Adams County, but the police officer filed the paperwork in Douglas County. Teddy’s well-paid lawyer pointed out this detail and the charges were dropped.

Like Teddy, The Brakes’ The Beatific Visions is short and to the point. It is full of subtle humor, intelligent critiques, and heartfelt emotions.

Hold Me In The River video: