avalanche records

Broken Records' penchant for arena-sized anthems peppered with violin, cello, and accordion caused U.K. music behemoth NME to dub them the "Scottish Arcade Fire", a notion that holds more than a little weight upon digging into their bigger-than-life 2009 debut, UNTIL THE EARTH BEGINS TO PART.

Like their American counterparts, the band sports an enigmatic front man (Jamie Sutherland)with a voice that is as unhinged as it is passionate (his throaty brogue casts a smoky Tom Waits/Bruce Springsteen-ish pallor to the whole affair), a love for all things orchestral, and an unhealthy obsession with semi-apocalyptic, social melodrama. But while the comparison is apt, the Broken Records have more in common with early, "Big Music" -era Waterboys. Like Mike Scott, Spencer Chamberlain doesn't wear his heart on his sleeve, he's barely holding on to it with his fingertips. He's looking to connect, and on stand-out cuts like "Nearly Home", " Thoughts on a Picture (In a Paper, January 2009)", and "Slow Parade", he lands a knockout blow, delivering on an early promise of greatness.

Track Listing

1. Nearly Home
2. If The News Makes You Sad Don't Watch It
3. Until The Earth Begins To Part
4. Promise, A
5. Thoughts On A Picture (In A Paper January 2009)
6. If Eilert Loevborg Wrote A Song It Would Sound Like This
7. Wolves
8. Ghosts
9. Good Reason, A
10. Slow Parade