Ted Leo and the Phamacists – The Brutalist Bricks

by Ben on March 12th, 2010

Ted Leo and the Pharmacists – The Brutalist Bricks
March 9th, 2010
Matador Records
Score: 6.5

Ted Leo is a perfect example of an artist plugging along for years, not compromising his art and gaining some measure of success just by working his ass off. That said, he has appeared to be in a slight but noticeable decline over the past couple of records. Both Tyranny Of Distance and Hearts Of Oak felt massive and important. It was easy to forgive the more forgettable tracks because the highlights were some of the Aught’s best songs. The difference between the highs and the lows were less noticeable on Shake The Sheets but its more uniform nature caused it to be a little divisive. I know more kids who got in to Ted Leo because of Shake The Sheets than the other records but those who had been in since the beginning were generally underwhelmed. Living With The Living was sort of the worst of both worlds. It had the glut of his early records without the really high points that would have made that record lasting and memorable. Thus, it was with no small bit of trepidation that I approached The Brutalist Bricks. It could easily have represented the next step in the slow decline of a beloved artist. Fortunately, things seem to be trending up again.

Ted Leo’s records are famous for being top-heavy and off the bat, it appears The Brutalist Bricks is no exception. It begins with lead single ‘The Mighty Sparrow’, a fine song which starts things off with a burst of that welcome Ted Leo energy. Its two minutes and thirty-seven seconds contain two false starts and all of the excellent guitar playing and tuneful, soaring vocals we’ve come to expect from his best songs. But the next two tracks, ‘Mourning in America’ and ‘Atvian Eyes’, while both perfectly decent, are relatively unmemorable guitar rock songs. In fact, one of the surprising things about The Brutalist Bricks is that its finest songs are sprinkled throughout the record rather than happening in a mighty block (think the opening, well, five tracks on Tyranny Of Distance). ‘Even Heroes Have To Die’ and ‘Gimmie The Wire’ are both excellent examples of high energy entertaining catchy punk rock and ‘One Polaroid A Day’ strays slightly on the funky side, ingratiating one of the better melodies of the last few Ted Leo records with an uncharacteristic low register vocal.

But the unabashed pinnacle of the record is ‘Bottled In Cork’, a true-to-life travelogue of touring Europe. It is sequentially the best thing he’s done since ‘Me And Mia’ kicked off Shake The Sheets and truly captures a weathered but upbeat view of life from a career rock ‘n’ roller who is definitely not as young as he used to be. With its call and response catchiness and power-punk opening, the number is both nostalgic, in the sense that it recalls the most moving and exciting moments of those early Ted Leo records, and yet also something new. It evokes the bittersweet nature of life’s inevitable march while still having enough fun to let you know that you will always have a part of your youth. It is quite honestly a triumph and deserves a place amongst Ted Leo’s very best songs.

For the most part, The Brutalist Bricks is the most straightforward punk record of Ted Leo’s career with the Pharmacists and much of the record’s unevenness is the result. Actually, unevenness isn’t the right word because the punk focus causes the all of the songs that are not standouts to blend together into one buzzy, high energy blur. Ted Leo’s best songs used the punk aesthetic to give punch to his incredibly melodies, but when the melodies aren’t there, the songs aren’t either. It’s not that they are bad, it’s just that when they’re over, they don’t stay with you.

Thematically, the record is fairly uniform as well. Ted Leo is unabashedly political and this lends him a good deal of his charm, but The Brutalist Bricks strays dangerously close to preachy territory in a few places. There are more obvious lyrical duds than on previous records, including the almost unbearable “And we all have a job to do/and we all hate God” line from ‘Woke Up In Chelsea’. To be fair, the rest of the song recovers, but it is an excruciating way to begin a pretty decent song. When he is at his best, Ted Leo draws from a common pool of experience and while there is an important place for political music, if the lyrics don’t resonate, then the song suffers. There are more than a couple of times I wished the record didn’t wear its politics on its sleeve so glaringly.

While Ted Leo remains at the forefront, this version of the Pharmacists is tight. Chris Wilson’s drumming remains one of the band’s strengths and the music is in a state of perfectly controlled chaos almost all of the time. For Leo’s part, his voice is a little huskier than usual, but that is understandable as it has received a drubbing over the years.

Ultimately, The Brutalist Bricks is more Shake The Sheets than Hearts Of Oak but it is a clear step up. Several reviewers have noted that Ted Leo sounds refreshed and that is undeniably true. After Living With The Living, it was unclear if Ted Leo was going to be able to maintain his incredible work ethic and keep his brand of optimistic activism intact. The Brutalist Bricks announces, loudly, that Ted Leo isn’t going anywhere. There are songs here worth remembering and with any luck, there will be many more to come.

Ben Pattison

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