Be Brave

The sound is richer and the mood conveyed by Sambol--think a Muppet Show Sylan--is more rueful. [Apr 2010, p.121]

Be Brave doesn’t live up to the rambunctious energy and junkyard swagger of the band’s debut LP, And Girls Club, but instead offers more subdued moments that allow Sambol’s frontman personality to transcend the clatter.

They could have retread the same musical territory, but instead they deliver a record that’s remarkable in its maturity and--most of all--its ability to be replayed again and again.

With songs like “All You Can Hide Inside” revealing a flair for rough-around-the-edges ballads, Be Brave shows that the Strange Boys are growing--not in a self-consciously “mature” way, but enough to make them more than just purveyors of raffish garage rock.

Be Brave is not quite the barnstormer that its lead single suggests, but there is enough gumption to see The Strange Boys through any scrutiny of their credentials.

Tellingly, ‘Be Brave’ is back-loaded with easily the strongest and most diverse cuts, and by the time the final acoustic plucks of ‘You Can’t Only Love When You Want’ fade out, The Strange Boys have done almost a sonic 180.

The only thing letting The Strange Boys down this time is a lack of vivacity. Their attitude is dripping from every song, but occasionally you’ll find yourself wanting them to blow their top, to unleash the energy they seem to be capping throughout for the sake of melody.

There’s an intriguing, never pandering, blend of genres on Be Brave–from soul to blues to modern day indie rock-packaged as Texas blues–making the record a more interesting listen each time around.

Reviewed as a whole album though, it must concede that buying Be Brave would be like paying for two songs played at different speeds and in different keys fourteen times over, an unwise choice that would eventually leave many wondering just what the hell is so different between Friday in Paris and Da Da anyway? I've got to tell you, after these past couple days, I can barely even tell anymore.

Be Brave is a stoic affair, but it's no slump. A happy medium still lies ahead.

The Strange Boys have proved to be great attention-grabbers but seem a little lost when things get too quiet.

Ryan Sambol, with his nasal drawl and ready harmonica, is perhaps rather too into Dylan for comfort, but the title track is dispatched with skronky brio, and "The Unsent Letter" is a heartfelt piano ballad all cracked with emotion. [Apr 2010, p.100]

Throughout it all, Ryan Sambol's creaky vocals sound anguished and aged. [Winter 2010, p.72]

Their greatest undoing comes from slouching toward completion. So much of their debut worked because it lacked finish. The holes in the record were where the charm oozed most freely. But now that those have been filled in by pedal steel and organ, many of the songs shine with an unoriginal veneer.