aaamusic | On 22, Jun 2012

‘Some Electric Sometime’ holds a distinctive similarity to Dinosaur Jr, in a sort of generically fuzzy and apathetic way. Bromide have taken cues from the masters, but whether this has proved beneficial is a question that is hard to answer.
‘Broken Records’ is a charming little pop song, but it feels rather flat until the last few chorus rounds, where the piano underpins the fuzzed-out guitar and compliments the soulful singing nicely. But ‘Hat To The Ride’ doesn’t quite keep things going, again relying too much on gradual buildup, meaning that attention wanes despite having another touching ending, as the start relies too strongly on tried-and-tested yet overfamiliar hooks and bland backing vocals that defeat the pensive lyrics. ‘Small Rewards’ pulls a gentle toe-tapper out the bag and raises a smile, but the vocals begin to grate here, having not changed much in tone or emotion since the first track, and the mix feels a bit flat, with instruments failing to “pop” at the listener. ‘Treasure Map’ amd ‘Triggers’ suffer similarly, both with some captivating instrumental moments lost in a hazy overall effect.
‘The View In Winter’ is a brief treat, I’ll have to admit. There’s a lo-fi charm to the scrappy vocals, and misplaced yet whimsical synths that add a different dimension to the predictable nature of Bromide’s songs, and the simple pop charm wins out in the lyrics. Then there’s the Tom Petty-isms on ‘Nothing’s Going In’, the kind of song that injects an energy and much-needed direction into the album, albeit rather late in the game. On another, similar, note, there’s a pseudo-gospel fascination to be found in the sweet acoustic song ‘Nikki Sudden’.

‘Some Electric Sometime’ is that kind of low-key, lo-fi album that will doubtless mean a hell of a lot to some listeners. Apparently the fruits of many, many years of work, the songs are considered, but in many cases overly so, and the album feels like a directionless mixtape your friend made of his demos as opposed to an album. It’s not bad, but I found myself hard pressed to pay attention to this. Simon Berridge’s vocals constantly teeter on the boundaries of touchingly raw and just unpolished, and the countrified alt-pop singer-songwriter sound of Bromide isn’t really captivating to me. Not bad as such, just unremarkable.

★★★★★

Author: Katie H-Halinski