- Critic score
- Publication
- By date
-
Some observers classify these ditties "country-punk," while other crankily insist they're "anti-folk," proving mainly that nobody knows what to make of simple little guitar-band songs on a scene where everyone's busy refining his or her artistic vision.
-
SpinThey blaze with scene-satiric brilliance. [Sep 2005, p.109]
-
BlenderStupid-brilliant punk rock. [Dec 2005, p.147]
-
Alternative PressThankfully, the electro-bleeped post-punk "All Night Disco Party" and buzz-band piss-take "Heard About Your Band" aren't just dead-on scenester satire; they're damned entertaining too. [Jan 2006, p.142]
-
You can't help feeling that, with a little less self-indulgence and a bit more camp brilliance, Brakes could be the side project that turned into something special.
-
New Musical Express (NME)Full of fraught, frivolous fun. [11 Jun 2005, p.67]
-
One of the most witty, ambitious and intelligent British guitar albums thus far in 2005.
-
UncutBrakes sound like The Jesus & Mary Chain with Tourette's. [Aug 2005, p.102]
-
An über-catchy collection of short, diverse songs laden with a playfully channeled anger and wit that are hard to forget.
-
Give Blood falls squarely in the "pleasant surprise" camp; a gift to short attention spans everywhere.
-
It’s hard to tell if this disc will have much in the way of staying power... but it’s a hell of a fun listen.
-
MojoBrakes give the likeable impression of being a jokey jamming session at a party that got out of hand. [Aug 2005, p.98]
-
Weird and wonderful in roughly equal measure.
-
When they play, they sound confident and sloppy. When they sing, they sound sincere and sarcastic. They crunch and slash like early punk, toy with country like The Mekons, and use chiming melodies like indie rock. And all fastened together by a combination of mockery and carelessness, they come out with something that could easily stand up against any of the favorite rock 'n' roll records you turn to for a good time.
-
Q MagazineLunacy has seldom sounded more exhilarating. [Aug 2005, p.126]
-
The music is comfortable, lacking the self-conscious over-rehearsed feeling of other new bands.
-
Humorous without being ridiculous, fun without being jubilant; Give Blood is a fundamental fluke of focus and wisdom.
-
Under The RadarGenuinely funny. [#11, p.114]
-
This is indie in the most traditional sense.
-
This style of mock-rock doesn’t have a long shelf life, as the songs cease to be funny and hipsters will inevitably find a new way to offhandedly make fun of/glorify themselves.
User score distribution:
-
Positive: 6 out of 7
-
Mixed: 1 out of 7
-
Negative: 0 out of 7
-
MaxJJan 28, 2006Outstanding
-
JCOct 27, 2005
-
RobbinLOct 14, 2005