Sam Endicott will never cop to it, but you’ve got to wonder if The Bravery’s frontman spent the latter part of 2006 monitoring the fortunes of one-time retro rivals The Killers. Because months after the Vegas foursome sacrificed hard-fought momentum by ditching frivolity and fun for bombast and the Boss, Endicott and his New York crew dug in, sticking with the sounds that made them famous.
That’s not to say sophomore album The Sun and the Moon is a carbon copy of the band’s eponymous ’05 debut—tempos have slowed a tad, choruses are a bit less giddy, and the synths have receded into the background somewhat—yet the music remains firmly entrenched in the ’80s. Call it a shift from New Wave to New Romantic, as if The Bravery graduated from Duran Duran’s Duran Duran to Duran Duran’s Rio (we know, Sam ... you swear you never listened to that group growing up ... but really, come on).
Of course, when you’re average to begin with, sticking close to home means staying, well, average. “This Is Not the End” is jolly enough, “Time Won’t Let Me Go” has some O.C. mush factor and “Split Me Wide Open” features a solid enough hook to (potentially) swipe some radio play. Mostly though, the disc floats by without distinction, making the unexpected case that the chance-taking Killers might have taken round two after all. –Spencer Patterson