EP Review: Brume - "Donkey"
Taking their cues from bands like Windhand and The Melvins, San Francisco's Brume deal in big riffs, atmospheric vocals and general oddness.
Donkey opens with the seven minutes opus Shadows, a song that is in no hurry to get where it's going, and as such the crushing riffs within act as a steady sledgehammer bludgeoning all, while bassist/vocalist Susie McMullan sings a haunting melody that floats somewhere in the distance as if she's merely a witness to said bludgeoning. Win offers more of the same, whereas Help Me adds a little more urgency by upping the pace ever so slightly, and McMullin sings a melody that sounds as if she's becoming a little more concerned about that bludgeoning that still seems to be going on.
The EP closes with Mother Earth which adds more layers to Brume's sound as more subtle flavours appear in the mix, a few more rhythmically interesting riffs here and a bit more load guitar there, and it's apparent that there's more to Brume than first meets the eye.
FINAL THOUGHTS
While they may not be wholly original and there are plenty of bands right now that do what they do, if Donkey is anything to go by, Brume are set to become of the best.
