From the rapid hitting of the high-hat, The Bravery’s first track “Honest Mistake” shows that you’re in for a real treat. The mix of the 80’s synth and rock music, works really well in this young band from New York. As I listened to this, I realized that synths and bass go so well together. Just about all the songs on this album are great. The only songs that aren’t the best would be “No Brakes,” “Tyrant,” and “Public Service.” However, the rest of the songs are fantastic. My favorite on the album would be, “Fearless” because of great musicianship on the song… great outro solo and bass lines.

The band itself is really good, although it may take some time for some people to get used to Sam Endicott’s way of singing. The best way to describe it would be that he sounds like Robert Smith from The Cure. I like his laid-back kind of singing because it brings a certain dynamic that a lot of bands lack.

As I listened to this CD, the thing that surprised me was the use of guitar solos. For this type of music and year we are in, a new band would typically let go of any solos… not The Bravery! There are just enough solos from Michael Zakarin; he really shows great ability to play solo that goes along with each song. The bassist, Mike Hindert, who bears a striking resemblance to the bassist of U2, creates some great grooves with his instrument. The drummer Anthony Burulcich is fast and furious on the drums with a style similar to The Killers. Last, but not least the keyboardist, John Conway, creates that I think is the heart of the album. If it weren’t for the synthesizers, the album wouldn’t be the same.