Live Review: Brutus – UK Tour 2022 – The Garage, London

Everything is shit… That’s not really the way you’d expect your typical review to begin, is it? But you’re probably nodding your head in agreement as you read those words. It’s true, they are (stay with me)

Life has become a never-ending drama. The world feels like it’s falling to bits and lots of terrible things are happening. People are at odds with each other more than ever, but deep down we are all just searching for that one moment that makes it all disappear. In that search for inner peace, we find ourselves in places like The Garage in Islington on a Tuesday night.

The venue has the privilege and honour of hosting the wonderfully magnificent Belgian trio Brutus who have just shaken up the music world with their latest opus ‘Unison Life’, an album that’s feels so incredibly ahead of its time and just oozes everything that is exciting right now when it comes to new music in the alternative space. The anticipation to hear this new material live is through the roof, I think you’d be hard pressed to find someone who isn’t excited tonight. Those who know, know.

And you know what? On this evening? For just over an hour, everything seemed right with the world once more because Brutus gave it all. And those of us eager to hear the new material weren’t kept waiting as ‘Liar’ kicks things off with its bouncing tempo. Heads were nodding, bodies were moving, and lyrics were being screamed back to the band. Its always a wonderful sight.

The great thing about this band is they’ve been very good for quite some time now. There are likely many in attendance that have flocked to sell out the Garage based on ‘unison life’ alone. Nothing wrong with that and its just the nature of the beast when you release such an album, but both previous ‘Burst’ and ‘Nest’ are well represented offering some of the finest moments of the set. ‘war’ provides a moment of eerie tranquillity as vocalist and drummer Stefanie Mannaerts’ vocals reverberated over those crisp clean guitars. ‘Horde II’ hits us in the face like a ton of bricks with its opening wall of sound before galloping ahead.

‘Desert Rain’ feels like the biggest moment of the show with its build up to one of the bands more extreme moments. It’s one of many moments where goosebumps are a plenty. Make no mistake, these songs are beautiful, but they are equally as brutal. It’s a dynamic that Brutus have mastered and on the live stage, its is huge!

Everyone in the venue was treated to an absolute masterclass and all for the cost of a couple of pints and a packet of crisps in the city (probably).

The appreciation for this band, on this stage, on this night, is through the roof. Stephanie takes a moment to thank the crowd and expresses how “this isn’t normal”, alluding to the packed house of adoring fans in front of her. The truth is it absolutely should be normal. This band deserve everything they’ve worked for.

So ask yourself…

…who is one of the best bands out there to do it right now? And why is it Brutus?