Album Review: Brodka - 'BRUT'
Questioning life, society and identity, Brodka's latest record is a BRUT-ally honest reflection of her world.
Following on from her 2016 album Clashes, Brodka is bringing her personal pop sounds to tell the stories of love, pain, wanting, and self-discovery. The Warsaw-based artist has always been praised for her creativity and abstract thought patterns, and this time around, she's proving that her voice will always be her greatest instrument in her field of expertise. The first track from the album shows this off clearly; 'Come To Me' is a multi-faceted love song which gives Brodka the opportunity to highlight the pure talent she holds within her throat. Using an echoing effect on her vocals at some points, and layering her vocals to create striking harmonies throughout the chorus and bridge, adds to the track's power. The sound is catchy, the lyrics speak of wanting and needing a love interest, and it's something that people will always be able to relate to.
'Game Change', the first single released from BRUT, is a favourite for its deep and more personal storytelling through the lyrics. Discussing the journey of Brodka's gender exploration, its structure goes between both ends of the gender binary through the two verses. This is through parallel lines: "I will be the one to fool" later becomes "I will be the one who dares"; and, "Hopping on the back of the bull" turns into "Hopping on the back of the bear". Mimicking the two extremes - labelled as being "Miss or Mister Mystery" in the song itself - it's a physical representation of the questioning and discovery of one's own identity and it's very cleverly put together in a fun and interesting package.
BRUT in its eleven-track entirety is an honest audible autobiography of Brodka's life and times, and one of the most honest records she has released in her fifteen-year-long music career.
It's deep, colourful, fascinating. It's Brodka, loud and proud.
Words by Jo Cosgrove