Brigade
Made To Wreck EP

Joining that rock middle-ground between underground 'scene' and fashionable 'it' bands - currently occupied by the likes of Biffy Clyro and Jetplane Landing, amongst others - Anglo-Japanese quartet Brigade are, on paper, a record label's dream - "enormous soundscape epics" and "sometimes earth-shattering".

In reality, they're not quite as groundbreaking as they sound, but are nonetheless an excellent proposition. Title track 'Made To Wreck' is thunderous in delivery, propelled along by a wall-breaking riff which, one would like to think, gave the song its title. Interspersing hook-filled choruses with angelic breakdowns ('Meet Me At My Funeral'), or riff-heavy sections with slow-burning build-ups ('Safe Hands'), it's clear Brigade are a band focused on the craft of songwriting, rather than filling their debut with guitar histrionics or a time change too many.

With such an emphasis on the songs themselves, Brigade aren't going to be one-hit wonders or flavour-of-the-week, but rather a band whose steady momentum could easily lead to great things. Such clarity and pop sensibilities are uncommon in bands upon their first release, and, with their debut LP pencilled in for early 2006, hopefully there's more to come.