Bruna - Pale Era (2000)

For a novice drummer, Gareth Edwards does an amazing job on this album. Scott’s cynicism and disenchantment with the incestuous local indie scene comes to the fore in many of the songs here, but tracks like ‘Palliative Care’, ‘My Kingdom For a Horse’ and ‘Way Behind’ resonate with universal human insights. There are no platitudes though – Scott’s turns of phrase are utterly unique and full of gallows humour. 

The album sounds like a band that is enjoying themselves, and the guitars sparkle in the way that we really wanted them to. It’s lush sounding, but not too “produced”. Neil Thomason adds some lovely slide to ‘Way Behind’, while Gareth’s wife Rachel and Kirsty Stegwazi contribute subtle touches of keyboard and cello.

We were really happy with this album, but our only review, in the local street press, was quite derogatory, accusing the band (quite disengenuously) of ripping off Lou Reed. Scott took this quite badly, and consequently retreated even further from what he saw as a fairly moribund local scene.

1.   The Hardest Working Girl In Rock And Roll
2.   Palliative Care
3.   White Walls
4.   Epilogue
5.   The New Wave Punk Rock Explosion
6.   My Kingdom For A Horse
7.   Doorlist Favourite
8.   Red Card
9.   Footlights
10. The Engine Rooms Are Hot
11. The Island Of Little Detroit Sinks
12. Way Behind

Download Bruna - Pale Era