Brooklin | Kycker Review

Brooklin – “Gravity” & “Tremble” Singles Review

A few weeks ago, Sheffield’s biggest weekend of the year saw hundreds of awesome artists play both the Fringe stages in the city centre, and loads more in the main festival location at Hillsborough Park. Ah, good old Tramlines. However, we were very excited to see a certain band there that ended up not being able to play. That band was Brooklin. So, I decided I was going to review them anyway. And while I’m at it, why not review both of their singles. So here we are.

Brooklin dropped their first single “Gravity” back in March, in partnership with Modern Sky UK. It’s a soulful jazz lullaby that boasts smooth rhythms, velvety vocals and fun brass & organ interludes, while somehow maintaining an element of north British grit. “Gravity” sits at a very healthy 5 minutes 52 seconds, all comprised of catchy falsetto vocal lines, mellow guitar hooks and enchanting organ melodies. It’s not overzealous to say that “Gravity” is about a strong a debut as you can get from a band of this size. I’m quite a sucker for jazz and soul, can you tell?

An artist that I find similar to this particular track is Puma Blue, a London based lofi jazz artist. By ‘similar’ I mean that it fits in a playlist well. It seems that this style of gloomy British neo-soul is making its way into the limelight again. Which is great, because it means we’re one step closer to having another go round at the roaring twenties. How cool would that be?

Their second single “Tremble” is another thing entirely. The track instantly kicks in with a funk infused guitar riff backed by brass licks and strong rock drums. “Tremble” shows off the rock side of Brooklin far more than “Gravity”. Interweaving melodies from the guitar, bass and brass sections make this track a pleasant cluster of many different styles that proves Brooklin were not a one hit wonder. Whereas “Gravity” was a straight up jazz track, this one blends neo-soul, funk rock and modern indie pop. While this track may be more of a crowd pleaser, it also utlizes plenty of staggered rhythms and stops in the beat to emphasis certain parts of the track.

Brooklin have worked with English Rain Sheffield on many a sold out show, and recorded an awesome live session of “Tremble” before it was released in June this year (2018), featuring some slappage of the bass and a great shirt.

Simply by writing great songs in a style that is far less common than basic indie or garage rock, Brooklin have shown themselves to be one of the best new bands to come out of Sheffield. Words cant describe how gutted I am that we didn’t catch them at Tramlines this year, but I shall continue listening to their tracks for a long time, as I love jazz. Did I mention that?

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