ALBUM REVIEW: Brave Faces Everyone – Spanish Love Songs

On their last album Schmaltz, SPANISH LOVE SONGS went from being a relatively unknown band to one of the most adored new punk bands in recent years. It’s not hard to see why as that album was one of the best examples of introspective song writing in the genre since since THE WONDER YEARS essentially completed pop-punk. Following up such an adored album was always going to be tough and within their scene Brave Faces Everyone is easily one of the most anticipated albums of the year. So are they able to deliver on the hype?

It doesn’t take long for opening track Routine Pain to put any nerves at ease. Whilst it might be immediately familiar to any fans of Schmaltz, it all just feels a little bigger and more ambitious this time round. Things start slow with Dylan Slocums‘ incredibly raw vocals painting a miserable picture over minimal guitars before the first chorus comes in and kicks things up a level. It’s the crescendo that closes out the song that really shows off the band’s growth this time round. It’s the kind of moment in a song where if you weren’t really aware of this band before, it forces you to pay attention.

The lyrics are certainly going to be the biggest talking point on this album. Across the 10 songs there are stories about loss, depression, addiction and countless other bleak topics. A lot of it is clearly based on Dylan‘s personal experiences and it’s all delivered with such brutal honesty. There are moments where he looks outwards too, Optimism (As a Radical Life Choice) has Dylan hopelessly singing about climate change. Whilst it is all very much from his perspective, his feelings and emotions felt throughout the album will still resonate with fans of the band.

Whilst it is all lyrically very dark, SPANISH LOVE SONGS have this incredible ability to wrap all this misery up in extremely catchy songs. Kick and Losers 2 are two of the catchiest songs about depression that will no doubt have fans singing at the top of their lungs when they are played live. Musically, there’s nothing here game changing but the band always perfectly compliment the vocals at every moment. Always building at the right times to provide the best emotional crescendos. There’s some infectious guitar lines throughout too. With Losers 2 featuring a lead guitar line that’ll stick with you.

Brave Faces Everyone just confirms SPANISH LOVE SONGS position as one of the best bands in their genre now. What’s most exciting though is even with an album this good, it still feels like the best is yet to come. The album being as miserable as it is might turn some people off but the quality of the songs is just too good to ignore. An album bursting with brilliant melodies and so much passion, this should be the album that really pushes SPANISH LOVE SONGS up to the next level in their career.

Rating: 9/10

Brave Faces Everyone is set for release on February 7th via Pure Noise Records.

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