As anyone who listened to music in the early nineties will know, Seattle is best know for bringing the “grunge†scene to the ears of the world. Now, however, Seattle has brought us a new sound, that of The Briefs. In an age that sees punk rock becoming more and more homogenised, The Briefs hit you like a breath of fresh of air by taking things back to basics. ‘Off The Charts’ is the band’s second full-length release and is certain to make you sit up and take notice, especially if you didn’t hear their first album.
The Briefs formed in Seattle in 1999 and overcame a lot of negative press to get to where they are today. The sound the band bring to the table is based around the original punk/wave movement and, whilst not original by any means, it easily allows them to stand out in 2003. The Briefs wear their influences in their guitar chords and you will hear a nod to the likes of The Buzzcocks, Dickies, Adolescents and The Damned. However, The Briefs are more than a flashback to a bygone scene, there is enough of their own identity in the music to bring it kicking and screaming into the 21st century.
‘Off The Charts’ picks up where their first album ‘Hit After Hit’ left off, featuring twelve slices of snotty punk/wave that flash past in under 30 minutes. From the first notes of ‘Outer Space Doesn’t Care About You’ The Briefs draw you into their world and their songs won’t leave your brain for days. The other great thing about this band is that not only do they sound like the punk/wave movement; they also uphold the original spirit. The likes of ‘Piss On The Youth’ and ‘We Americans’ are songs with something to say. Believe it or not there is more subject matter available than the female of the species! Even when they do tackle the most favoured of topics on ‘Tear It In Two’, they produce a poppy ballad that has real emotion to it. Admittedly this album is more of the same, and doesn’t quite have the impact of their first release, but there is no doubting the quality of material on display, especially standouts like ‘Gary Glitters Eyes‘ and ‘Ain’t It The Truth’.
With ‘Off The Charts’ The Briefs have produced a worthy follow up to their first release. Their back to basics approach is still a unique flavour in punk rock today and deserves to be heard by as many people as possible.
Mark