Lafayette, Louisiana based band Brass Bed’s new album The Secret Will Keep You is a swift-moving, riverine composition of indie-rock teeming with the alluvial guitar bursts and thumping bass that are deposited along the banks of the ten songs that comprise the album. Brass Bed perfectly navigates the waters of flowing pop and upbeat song craft; sometimes this stream lazes by gently while at others it bubbles up into fast-moving rapids. The Secret Will Keep You is equal parts driving power pop and fluid sounds.
At times, individual songs embody both of these approaches as on album opener “Cold Chicory,” which announces the album like easy sunlight on the water’s surface, and standout single “A Bullet for You.” At other moments tracks adhere primarily to a quick pace such as “I’ll Be There With Bells On” and “How to Live In A Bad Dream.” Even during these upbeat songs, keys and atmospheric production drift behind the foreground guitars, evidenced perfectly on “Back and Forth,” a track that channels John Lennon. On the title-track as well as the beautifully meandering songs “I Guess I’ll Just Sing” and “Suspension Of Vision,” the band shows off their slow grooves as these tracks float by in languid splendor. Each of these songs do pick up steam, particularly in the final half minute of the latter two.
The Secret Will Keep You culminates in the estuary of “Have To Be Fine” as the album’s steady flow opens into a wide ocean of gently undulating waves of sound and the listener floats out into a dreamy haze of sunset. Brass Bed has brought us full-circle on this journey, and replaying the album feels just right. The Secret Will Keep You not only represents a great indie-rock record, but also offers sufficient subtleties to make repeat listens rewarding. Though Louisiana is known for the mighty Mississippi, it is the Vermillion that runs through the center of Brass Bed’s hometown of Lafayette. Whatever waterway the band is steering us down, rest assured, we’re onboard the raft, along for the ride.
