The Harmed Brothers
Across The Waves
Fluff and Gravy
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The thing about Bruce Springsteen is that iconic as his music is, his early work can feel far removed from today's world. The ideas―freedom, love, and resigned dissatisfaction―still hold up, but the specifics resonate less clearly. How many young people do you know who see motorcycles as tools of escape? How many people live right off of dying boardwalks?
But this universe Springsteen created is both so vivid and iconic, it feels real, the collective memory of an experience none of us had. It's strong enough that many bands default to these vestigial images, perhaps not even consciously. The Harmed Brothers’ rock & roll Across The Waves doesn't fall into the Springsteen trap, but rather tries to make sense of it.
The Harmed Brothers, out of Ludlow, Kentucky, features songwriters Ray Vietti and Alex Salcido. Their music is straightforward American rock & roll, with nods to Springsteen and Bob Seeger, all of it dusted with country. It's the type of music found on the radio in the 1970s and 1990s, but that otherwise was heard coming from eight-tracks, tapes, CDs, and, eventually, streaming services, in cars planted in under-secured parking lots late at night. This isn't cool, edgy music but rather timeless rock & roll.
And that makes the lyrics all the more important, because as charming as the melodies are, and as well arranged as the songs are, there still needs to be depth, which comes from words.
"Funnies" features a drumbeat derived from a march, and country guitar taking the military edge off. The song is told from the perspective of an old person getting ready to die, if not imminently, then eventually, with the character explaining what bad shape things are in: "Bring me the morning news / I’ll take the funnies and the crossword / And I’ll leave the rest for you / The earth is running out of truth." The appeal of the song is that it's not a wise older person sharing final nuggets of enlightenment, but rather someone admitting they left the world in bad shape. It's not an explicit indictment of Springsteen's generation, but it is calling the choices of many into question. Springsteen characters will readily cop to messing up their own lives, but don't always address their larger impact upon the world beyond their own unfortunate decisions.
"All The Same" is quiet, with a driving rhythm. Vietti sings with a detached anger. One verse seemingly picks up where Springsteen songs often end: "Across Colorado, beyond the great Salt Lake / I stretch my devotion out across the waves / Terminal dreamer caught up in the chase / Heart still beating and lost in fate," but rather than staying with the idea of dreaming and the great American expanse, the song quickly pivots to angst, with the hopeless chorus of "It’s all the same, anyway." In other words, you may as well park the car and stay home: the open road is a dead end.
Which isn't to say The Harmed Brothers are anti-Springsteen. They can nail his pathos as well as anyone. "Skyline Over…," with its driving rhythm and Salcido’s anthemic vocals, is what inspired the "Born To Run" comparisons. But beyond the music, the lyrics also recall Springsteen's desire to avoid capture in the grind of the 9-5: "If Friday comes and you’re still around / Won’t you stretch till you’re ten feet tall / And if you could, would you spread your wings / At least as far as the county sprawls."
I might be atypical, in that I don't feel strongly about Springsteen one way or another, but there's no escaping the impact he's had on music. Because of that, it's interesting to see a newer band, like The Harmed Brothers, rethinking many of the assumptions of Springsteen's older music, while also embracing many of his familiar elements. Springsteen's characters were, typically, trying to run away to escape the inevitable pain that was always a few moments away. The Harmed Brothers’ characters are either often already broken or have realized there's no escape, making for a different kind of song. They keep the music hopping to prevent songs from getting too down, resulting in a fun, thoughtful album.
Notable Tracks: “All The Same” | “Funnies” | “Skyline Over”
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