Brave new world

Sam Endicott can’t help but chuckle. The Bravery singer/guitarist has just been asked how the band’s music will evolve after the release of the group’s latest album, The Sun and the Moon. It’s the sort of question he’d obviously been asked incessantly following the release of The Bravery’s 2005 self-titled debut album.

“I remember with the last record, like the day it came out, people being, like, ‘So, what’s the next record going to sound like?’” Endicott laughs. “So I was waiting for that.”

And he’s prepared with an answer.  

“After doing this record, I feel like we have no limits on what we can do,” Endicott says. “Like, we’re not categorized into a certain sound or a certain style of songs, [and] that is very freeing to me.”

Endicott isn’t just paying lip service, either. In fact, The Sun and the Moon really does open up new possibilities for the band’s musical evolution. The dance-pop prevalent on the band’s debut earned The Bravery comparisons to The Killers, Franz Ferdinand and synth-pop groups of an earlier vintage, like Depeche Mode and New Order. But the dance beats that characterized The Bravery are used sparingly on the new record, making it harder for the band’s critics (a plentiful lot) to pigeonhole the album or, for that matter, the band.

“We didn’t want to just do the exact same thing again,” Endicott says. “When we made the first album… we intentionally made every song like a dance party. With this one, it was like we have all these different sides that we haven’t explored yet, so whatever comes out, we’re just going to roll with it. We’re not going to limit ourselves.”

Beyond a more varied rhythmic pulse, The Sun and the Moon takes the New York City band (which formed in 2003) in more of a traditional-pop direction on songs like “Believe” and “Time Won’t Let Me Go” (the first single) that fall into tuneful yet edgy, mid-tempo territory. Meanwhile, songs like “Split Me Wide Open” and “This is Not the End” rock a bit harder and take on more of an epic feel. With “The Ocean” and “Tragedy Bound,” The Bravery go to the opposite end of the spectrum, stripping back into acoustic ballads.

The dance element that was so prominent on the first album is emphasized only on a few of the new songs, such as “Every Word is a Knife in My Ear” and “Bad Sun.” But even on these tunes, the beat isn’t as overpowering as it often was on the debut. The more eclectic music on The Sun and the Moon makes for a less transient sound, more textured and, at the same time, more adventurous.

The Bravery’s venture into uncharted territory may not solely be a result of natural musical evolution, but rather a conscious effort to distinguish the band from the new wave of new wave.

They’re a shining example of how quickly a Next Big Thing can be relegated to Object of Ridicule in the court of hipster opinion. Initially embraced as rising stars, The Bravery were subsequently denounced as a prefabricated rip-off of groups like The Killers. In fact, Killers frontman Brandon Flowers sparked a public feud with The Bravery after accusing the group of riding The Killers’ coattails.

Backlash notwithstanding, The Sun and The Moon has already had two singles (“Time Won’t Let Me Go” and “Believe”) reach the top 11 on the Modern Rock charts.

The band’s sonic experimentation does, however, create some challenges when it comes to live shows. Endicott says he and his mates try not to get caught up in the details, or criticism, opting instead to let their performances—live and on disc—speak for themselves.

“We look at recording and live as two different media,” Endicott says. “In the studio, it’s more about subtlety and layering. The more you hear it, the more things you pick out. But live, we sacrifice some of that in return for just energy—pure energy.”