The Sun: B+
The Moon: D
The sounds of the sun completely overshadow the moon on The Bravery's latest album, The Sun and The Moon Complete. A re-release of the band's 2007 album The Sun and The Moon, the creative addition to the album hurts much more than it helps.
The first disc in the two-disc set, The Sun, will get the listener excited. It has some great instrumental work to go along with the tragic-sounding vocals of lead singer Sam Endicott, which are soothing and enjoyable.
The second disc, The Moon, has all of the relaxing and pleasing qualities torn away and replaced with remixed techno beats and static-sounding organs, distorting and nearly destroying all of the first disc's tracks.
While both CDs are comprised of the same songs, they play as two completely different albums. The words might be the same, but they do not carry the same quality or meaning when they're listened to back-to-back.
The Bravery laid down this remixed Moon disc without skilled producer Brendan O'Brien (Pearl Jam, Incubus) who was present for The Sun. What results from this independent, second-side experiment, is a raw, synthetic feel that falls short of interesting new age music. The sharp contrast between good and bad ultimately makes this re-release utterly unnecessary.
Though The Moon's lack of self-worth disappoints, The Sun remains well crafted enough to stand alone. The familiar hit "Believe" has a chorus catchy enough to cover the song's not-so-philosophical lyrics.
"So give me something to believe/Cause I am living just to breathe," Endicott sings.
The track "Time Won't Let Me Go" channels old school Oasis, lending a cheerful, contemplative air by blending ethereal, drawn-out guitar hooks with a mid-'90s, drop-tempo drum beat. While the track is pretty, it sounds a little too manufactured to truly capture the simple emotion of the sound to which it pays homage.
Still, by giving the listener two discs to compare, The Sun and the Moon really goes from great to garbage. This re-launch album falls short and would have been better off left in the back of their bus, where the idea came from.
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
