Album Review: The Strange Boys, Be Brave

If the Basement Tapes had been recorded by a garage rock band from Texas, this might well have been the result. There's certainly more than a hint of Dylan here- from the jingle jangling guitars to Sambol's wailing Dallas-dry vocals, yet The Strange Boys somehow manage to come off contemporary, probably in part due to the fact that they owe as much of a debt to Black Lips or White Stripes as they do to the Stones or Dylan. At times too, Sambol's nasal voice is reminiscent of Caleb Followill's, perhaps most noticebly during the sparse beginning of 'A Walk On The Bleach.'
The album's finest moment comes early- title track 'Be Brave' with its 60s spy song refrain, saxophone solos and confident conversational 'delivery of 'don't sound like no choice to me'- is furiously catchy- but 'Night Might' with its Chuck Berry horn riffs, the 'Rainy Day Women' paced 'I See' and the piano-driven ballad 'The Unsent Letter' are also highlights. What's remarkable about this record is that it comes less than a year on from their debut. So whilst The Strange Boys already sound like a band comfortable with their sound- at one shambolic and melodic- it seems very likely this is only the beginning of better things. 7/10