With the new album, Moonface
is accompanied by the Finnish band Siinai
who are best known for their instrumental post-rock. What came about is something quite different
from the last Moonface album, an
album filled with emotional anthems with lyrics grounded in a sense of anguish
and yes heartbreak like the album’s title would imply. The track Yesterday's
Fire has a dominant drum rhythm throughout with the background filled with
an ever-present series of notes played on keyboard which creates a desirable
drone affect. Shitty City starts off with an extended instrumental portion of
fast paced synth riff which leads into a brief but poignant set of lyrics
conveying regret for not leaving a place sooner; the song may be short but it
leaves an impression. There are two standout tracks on this album, Headed for the Door and Teary Eyes And Bloody Lips. They were
rightfully released before the Heartbreak
Bravery came out in its entirety because they are the two songs that
highlight when this collaboration between Krug and Siinai really shines. Both songs are subtle in their execution of
the more emphatic moments that come as the song plays through, the way that the
cymbal splashes out along with the keyboard when the line “I headed for the door” is sung a number of times at the end, and
those little keyboard interludes throughout Teary
Eyes And Bloody Lips. It’s these small touches that make them great songs
and the best of the album.
Heartbreak Bravery
is by far the best Moonface album to
date, however, the album projects a sense of unmet scope as though it was
trying for some kind of grand emotional anthem. Instead it is much more of a
subtle album filled with roughly defined tales of heartbreak and unfinished
business.
