Review Piroshka – Brickbat

Piroshka – Brickbat

Bella Union
The debut album Brickbat by Piroshka is an instantly catchy listen and adds credence to my opinion that the British simply make the best rock music. I’m admittedly unfamiliar with Lush, Elastica, Moose, and Modern English beyond the obvious Modern English song. What I can say definitively is that regardless of whether you were into any of those bands, this is an “alternative” record worth your time. Brickbat has punk energy but enough pop hooks so it doesn’t get stale. Also, the vocals on Brickbat are excellent. As always with a great record, the people who mixed, engineered, and produced this album deserve immense credit.

The little I do know about the band members’ backgrounds is that Lush was categorized as a shoegaze act. This is not a shoegaze album, and good. I think I’ve heard enough washed out reverb sounds for the year, and when I want that sound I have my My Bloody Valentine records. Piroshka are an indie-rock band in the true sense of the word—not the co-opted term that was used to describe a myriad of emo bands in the mid-2000s and beyond that wanted/want to avoid being labeled emo.
There isn’t a specific band this album reminds me of which is always a great and rare thing in the music world. I hope Piroshka releases Brickbeat on cassette because this is one I would add to my collection in a heartbeat. Like most truly great LPs, in my opinion, there isn’t one track that towers above the others in terms of quality. My advice is just hit play from the beginning and let it run. However, my personal favorite might be “Hated by the Powers.” If there’s an anthem on here that track is the one. Great songwriting and great studio work, what’s not to love? Very highly recommended.