a pulse-pounding, ear-pleasing, head-bobbing ripper - “Mala” by Brother Sports
★ by Alexander Whitelaw ★
Brother Sports is the kind of band you’d see at your local dive bar; the kind of dive bar that happens to have music on a Tuesday night. You wander in off the street, not knowing what to expect, but hoping for something good. Two songs into their set and you’re hooked, and now all you're hoping is that the singer remembers to tell you who they are so you can go home and add every single song of theirs to your most recent Spotify Playlist. Their new EP, Mala, is the transition taking them from that great band you saw at a dimly lit dive bar, to that amazing band you’d see at a proper venue.
The album’s opener “1.” glides in with a subdued wave of lush guitar chords, dissonant splashes of Korg synth, and a mesmerizingly distorted guitar lead, that careens effortlessly over the lush soundscape below it, before slowly fading into the title track “Mala.” A pulse-pounding, ear-pleasing, head-bobbing ripper, sure to please fans of early post-punk acts such as New Order and Joy Division. Anthony Santa Maria’s vocals rattle off smooth and effortless as he chugs alongside the rest of the band before shifting into a Casablanca-esque belt for the song’s climactic refrain.
The song “2069” sounds like a long lost demo from Room on Fire; it’s the kind of song you wish The Strokes still made. The guitars are laser-focused and simultaneously warm while the melody is apathetically crooned out just above them. “Distractions” delivers an infectious melody that is all at once bright and catchy, while simultaneously anxious and restless. The song’s mantra becomes its focal point: “connections/distractions/I know you’re down/I’m not the one.”
“They revive and reimagine the structures and forms of artists before them by experimenting with sound and content, while never sacrificing the core elements that make them distinct.”
The EP’s climactic closer “Fears,” is a non-stop sonic barrage of catchy hooks and rhythms that effortlessly shifts between sections before diving head-on into a well deserved and satisfying explosion of sound. You can almost close your eyes and imagine the sea of hands rising up to catch the next crowd surfer as the music swells behind them. The production is tight and snappy, the textures are vibrant and immersive. The songwriting is catchy and unique, and the performances are dialed in.
What makes Brother Sports stand out on this record is their ability to draw from their influences while simultaneously improving upon them. A lot of Mala plays like the actualized ideas that Julian Casablancas and Brooks Nielsen have been leaning into in recent Stroke’s and Growler’s endeavors. The only difference being that Brother Sports succeeds. They revive and reimagine the structures and forms of artists before them by experimenting with sound and content, while never sacrificing the core elements that make them distinct.
A lot of bands attempt the jump from lo-fi bedroom recordings to hi-fi studio ones. It’s a tricky leap to land, but Brother Sports have effortlessly cleared the gap with Mala, and are running full speed ahead to the other side. Mala showcases a band brimming with talent and hungry for the chance to prove it.
Mala is available everywhere May 20th
Brother Sports is: Anthony Santa Maria, Ishaq Fahim, Gil Castillo, Robert Vela and Marcus Siegel
Recorded by: Connor Schwanke