Rating: 7/10
This sibling syndicate is surfacing strongly with their sophomore studio album, Just Because. Sadly, The Belle Brigade betray their name, as this band is built of Barbara Gruska and her baby brother, Ethan. Despite the obvious misnomer, The Belle Brigade are doing well as a budding band and feasibly follow in the footsteps of their musical family, especially after accruing a path of their own by tightening their tunes to take after their own tastes.
Just Because feels more like a Sunday drive than a second album. The Gruska group will leave you riddled with honest harmonies reeking of retro, 1980s pop-synth. Falling for this release is as effortless as its beachy overtones, for while the duo dips dangerously into a Country-vocal ditch, they have dug their digits into something that draws deviously from both folk harmonies and pop hooks, a trait attributed to the tunes of Fleetwood Mac.
It would appear that the ill-fated “sophomore slump” has been subdued by the sister-brother set. As far as I am concerned, this congenial CD contributes to their coming conjunctures.
FIYL: Fleetwood Mac, Simon and Garfunkel
Recommended: 1, 10, 6, 2
