The Brackish: Big Guys

Manning up with Bristol’s muso underground.

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Our Reviews Ed knows this writer very well. “Can you review this? It’s got a man with a big beard carrying a massive fish on the cover and it’s recommended by Schnauser.”

Tick, tick and tick. That’s my parameters defined then. Unless we can be very niche and call this The Fierce & The Dead-core, it’s more likely to come under the umbrella of pronk, punk-prog’s playful love child. We’re being a tad general, though. Bristol band The Brackish might deal in spiky, energised instrumentals influenced by XTC, No Means No and King Crimson (The Good, The Bad And The Otter seems to cram all of these in), but there’s a healthy dose of Cream-esque garage-fuzz (King Of Tokyo), dinner jazz gone wrong (I Done The Magic) and some fine post-rock too (Lightwood Reservoir). Peering at the line-up, we see members of the excellent, sadly defunct country rock outfit Phantom Limb – one of whom is guitarist Luke Cawthra, son of late Dr Feelgood guitarist Gypie Mayo. Chuck in some ex-Zun Zun Egui action and Neil Smith from The Liftmen and that’s one hell of a progressive whole. So if you too like big beards, big fish and Schnauser, it’s worth diving into right now.

Jo Kendall

Jo is a journalist, podcaster, event host and music industry lecturer with 23 years in music magazines since joining Kerrang! as office manager in 1999. But before that Jo had 10 years as a London-based gig promoter and DJ, also working in various vintage record shops and for the UK arm of the Sub Pop label as a warehouse and press assistant. Jo's had tea with Robert Fripp, touched Ian Anderson's favourite flute (!), asked Suzi Quatro what one wears under a leather catsuit, and invented several ridiculous editorial ideas such as the regular celebrity cooking column for Prog, Supper's Ready. After being Deputy Editor for Prog for five years and Managing Editor of Classic Rock for three, Jo is now Associate Editor of Prog, where she's been since its inception in 2009, and a regular contributor to Classic Rock. She continues to spread the experimental and psychedelic music-based word amid unsuspecting students at BIMM Institute London, hoping to inspire the next gen of rock, metal, prog and indie creators and appreciators.