Live

The Brute Chorus

Sarah Warburton 18/02/2008



Soho Revue, Monday 18th Feb 2008

The Brute Chorus are a four-piece bluesy, folksy, rocky mish-mash who don't actually fit into any specific niche or musical category, so I shall just describe them as 'alternative'. They are the first band signed to Bumpman Records, the label run by the people behind celebrity haunt The Hawley Arms (R.I.P). Everywhere I turn my head I can only read great reviews about them and their music, so it was with a fair amount of intrigue that I headed to the very suave and stylish Soho Revue to check them out live.

Their set began with a thumping, powerfully simple bass line which soon became surrounded by the other instruments, and then the song retreated to a dead end. The music built, and showed so much exciting potential, yet I never really got complete satisfaction. The Brute Chorus performed with so much promise and so much potential, at the beginning of their set I was genuinely excited. They didn't merely toe-tap or twitch, no, they jerked around the stage as if possessed and their frantic jiving in brogues whilst surrounded by the glamourous Soho Revue décor seemed a perfect contrast combination.

As their set continued, I waited on the edge of my seat for the build up, which occurs in every song, to finally explode into the glorious tale which so many reviewers say they can produce. It never came and I was left feeling a bit disappointed. If any of you are familiar with the film producer, David Lynch, I would describe the Brute Chorus as the musical equivalent. They are entertaining, engrossing and ambiguous, but at the end of it all you are left a bit confused and slightly unfulfilled… Or maybe it's just me?!


Picture: The Brute Chorus Live @ The Albany - photo credited to