The Broken Stems released their debut 5 song EP entitled “We Are Home” on October 15th, 2013, to critical acclaim. And now at the verge of the close of 2016, are back with a brand new EP, entitled “What Are You Connected” as well as a revamped lineup. The band now consists of Jesse Gawlik (Lead Vocals, Guitars), Brad Sweet (Keys, Vocals), Chelsea Baker (Bass, Vocals) and Andrew Bache (Percussion, Drums).
The opening track alone, on the new album is a knockout. “Illuminate Your Halo” starts off innocuously, with jangly guitars and a piano-driven rhythm, but any notion of this being just another indie rock song is thrown out the window when Jesse Gawlik delivers his unforgettable soaring chorus. This isn’t pretentious gibberish, but a brilliant bit of musical poetry that is violently stamped into your head immediately by the forward thrusting soundscape.
The hooks on the rest of the album are plentiful, as are the oblique and powerful lyrics. The fabulous title track “What Are You Connected” contains driven wordplay and a contagious melody, complete with a fantastic break of harmonic vocals.
The bewildering and playful, “AntiBots” features another great melody and rhythm that breaks into a gorgeous guitar solo, not to mention the rare impassioned moments from Jesse Gawlik. Gawlik and Sweet are the driving creative forces behind the band, but both Baker and Bache are secret weapons.
Bache pounds away relentlessly on the kit. His fluid, often powerful drumming sometimes comes close to overwhelming the songs, but his playful style works perfectly with the Baker’s thumping basslines, and together their distinctive runs and fills help set this album apart anything else you’ll hear.
The epic and at times blistering, hard-rocking instrumental “City Lights” (Intro) and then “City Lights” itself, sets the tone for The Broken Stems to immediately careen all over the musical map in a way legions of alternative imitators wouldn’t even dream of.
It’s from here that the album takes a turn into more diverse and overall compelling territory. Songs constantly veer off in unpredictable directions, making “What Are You Connected” more of a compulsory listen than its predecessor.
This album represents The Broken Stems at a peak as musicians; the band’s rawer edges have definitely been toned down, but the complexity and soulful dynamics, are honed to perfection here.
Just check out the way the electric piano tones on the wailing “Mirrors Of Sound”, or how the guitars kick in at the perfect time in the soaring blues of “Just A Man”, and the way the echoey vocals and harmonies make your skin crawl on “Take Me In”, and how the deep, crawling bassline gives way to the funky rhythms on “Three Eyed Bird”.
Combining jagged, roaring guitars and stop-start dynamics with melodic pop hooks, intertwining harmonies, and evocative keyboards that embrace swashbuckling vocals, the The Broken Stems is one of the most interesting alternative rock bands on the underground independent music scene.
This is an exceptional and welcome album from The Broken Stems. If you’re still clutching your copy of 2013’s “We Are Home”, praising it for all its worth, try spinning “What Are You Connected”, just once…you will be surprised. Yes, best can get better!
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