Mouse Ear - Brito - Split - 7

Labels: Clue #2
Review by: Andy Malcolm

Both bands here are in the habit of spitting out grooving hardcore in the vein of bands like 400 Years and Shotmaker, so that makes for a 7″ that I am going to enjoy. Brito up first and they full their side of 45rpm emotional churn with plenty of strained vocals and a tightly wound, mid-paced mood. Primed for rocking back and forth. They’ve been at this game off and on for a fair old while and have all the right touchstones as far as I am concerned. Adept.

Flip it for Mouse Ear, who also contribute one song. This gets straight into it, and the energy and riffs are right up my alley. Again, this tends to stick to a script laid down by a particular strain of mid 90s emotional hardcore but given that the entire world can’t output more than 25 songs a year in that fashion, you’d be a fool to dismiss it for such a trifling offence. Mouse Ear pummel their way on through, a bit more furious than Brito perhaps, and that makes for a good contrast between two very fine bands that are perfectly suited to the format.

(Disclosure: I’ve co-released some Brito records in the past, so yeah, I like them)