Member Since: 3/12/2006
Band Website: brad-brooks.com
Band Members: A roving band of rogue worshippers that includes Brad Brooks (Vocals, Piano, guitar, the pants), Paul Hoaglin (Any instrument he chooses), Patty Espeseth (Cello), Todd Roper (Skins), Matt Cunitz (Piano, Bass, Repair)
Influences: Any New Orleans second line brass, flocks of birds showing off, the noon time bells at the Ferry Building, Pidgins talking, people speaking from the heart and actually meaning it, the sound of two, or three people in love, breaking glass, Benjamin Franklin’s glass armonica, Kate Bush singing anything, Os Mutantes during "Panis Et Circenses", Peter Gabriel: then and now, Randy Newman for character detail and fine eye wear, Fiona Apple for lyrical cadence and exquisite break-up detail , Syd Barrett for fuzzy innocence in excess and floor painting, Tom Waits: The bard of all things cool and unusual, Scott Walker for the guts to say anything, and look good doing it, or the guts to say nothing, and look bad doing it. Calexico for creating the soundtrack of my hometown memories every time, Roy Wood: brilliance and bravery, lunacy and wizardry, Roy Harper for being Roy Harper, Roxy Music for musical cinematic brilliance, supreme wardrobe and Brian Eno, Brian Eno: Can anyone really describe his music or the man? Queen: Is the King!, Flaming Lips for signing my “Fearless Freaks†DVD and making the template for all to try and follow at their own peril , The Zombies for cool, smooth, smoky grooves and the best voice a man could hope for, Rufus Wainwright: Old soul voice in an orchestrated messiahs body, Olivia Tremor Control for sounding like fuzz on a peach, and juice from a pickle, Elliott Smith for saving my life, a time or two, PJ Harvey brings love and death, in a syllable, Burt Bacharach: Has no peer, and a golden ear, Ray Davies: Should be the only knight of England………. period, Belle and Sebastian for being the Archies in a monastery, Bob Dylan: When this man leaves this earth, there had better be a national holiday in his name (Dylan Day)
Sounds Like: Radiohead would dig Brooks. Lots. This really fine release drops out of the sky with songs that resonate like The Bends or Rufus Wainwright's simmering 1998 debut – thoughtful tracks packed with cool instrumentation, evocative, weirdly funny lyrics and an uncanny knack for making ears prick up. Brooks' gorgeous, powerful voice echoes Thom Yorke but has plenty of soft and jagged nuances all his own. There's nothing timid or withdrawn about Spill, which seems drawn from a much deeper well than most stuff out there............JamBase (Dennis Cook)
And now for something completely different. Brad Brooks stretches the boundaries of power pop with Spill Collateral Love, a tour de force of different pop stylings that share the same level of inspiration. I've seen comparisons of Brooks to a number of different artists, with the consensus being that he's Freddie Mercury meets Guided by Voices. There's certainly an element of that in there, but there are several others that shine through. For example, the leadoff track "Love On My Sleeve" builds to a Rufus Wainwright via Thom Yorke crescendo that never wears out its welcome over nearly six minutes. "Lathered In Cream" is the closest to straight-ahead power pop, but it adds its own subversive GbV element as well............................ Absolute Powerpop (Steve Farra)
An absolute dream of an album! The fecundity of Brook’s true blue pop gift will positively flood you the moment you press play. I am a sucker for eclecticism and Brooks provides variety in spades. And what blistering entertainment – from chamber pop to guitar pop to music hall to modern balladry to country-folk and so on… the instrumentation is world class: real strings illuminate the proceedings like a breath-taking sunrise. Hyperbole aside – this is an essential album for every pop music lover. Encore, maestro! Power of Pop (Kevin Matthews)
For those of you who enjoy your pop on the baroque side, the new Brad Brooks album will definitely be your cup of tea. "Spill Collateral Love" contains a flood of orchestral and harmonic details with those guitar power chords. "Love on my sleeve" is a good track that recalls the hypnotically repeated guitar chords from Beatles' "I Want You (She's So Heavy)." This is followed by "Lathered in Cream," a bouncy, hook-filled classic slice of power pop and the obvious "single" on this album...... Powerpopaholic (Aaron Kupferberg)
Record Label: Unsigned
Type of Label: None