If Dylan is on a never-ending tour, then Pennan Brae is in a never-ending recording session. Arcade is his 5th album in 2 years. With such a high production rate you might see this as possibly being the difficult 13th album of his career. Not so. Having also kept a consistent team around him through the last couple of years has focused him on what is great about his music.
Opener ‘Hold The Line’ is a typical Brae guitar riff mirroring his vocal line. Harmonies from Alison Jenkins liven up the chorus and the almost Allman Brothers style twin lead break in the middle is a new feature, continuing the trend of more lead lines creeping in with each album.
Brae has always claimed influences from the 70s and 80s. Keith Richards’ rhythm playing is at the top of that list, with Chilli Peppers another strong reference point. Some songs here, ‘Stage Right’ for instance are starting to edge forward in style with a touch of Stripes era Jack White about them. Expanding his palette, a bit is good news as bringing that little element of unpredictability into the music keeps us listening. But it’s the riffs that keep you coming back to Pennan Brae, and the obligatory Stones homage arrives with ‘Swing On A Vine’. If you can sit still to this one then it may be time to hand in your Rock and Roll passport.
The gems arrive in the second half of this 10 track album. ‘Sauntering’ and ‘Shrug’ are once again slight steps away form the formula. Shrug has more White Strips about it, with another strong solo section at the end. Alison Jenkins’ vocal adds another layer to his guitar-based sound on ‘Sauntering’. It’s back to the 60s with the slightly psych feel to this song. The breezy album close ‘Arrival Time’ has more of Jenkins’ voice. She is one of the secret ingredients to the best songs here and on earlier albums. More Allman Brothers twin lead appears over this 70s style power pop gem.
The email from Pennan that brought this album arrived the same day as the latest in Bruce Brodeen’s Best of Power Pop compilations. This time for 2021. While these are always fund listens there simply is nothing of the quality of Pennan Brae’s work . For 2021 I would have added El Camino from that year’s Lit. When the 2023 edition rolls around ‘Arrival Time’ Shrug’ or ‘Swing On A Vibe’ will still be the best Power Pop songs of this year. With the steps towards some new ideas here the next album will be hard pressed t beat this. But with Kaj Falch-Nielsen firmly strapped into the producer’s chair I’m sure Pennan Brae is up to the challenge.
Available at Bandcamp Once you’ve bought this just work your way back they’re all good.
