Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

There is always a little room for Glossom in your life, should there not be then it is the right time to delete from your memory the mouthfuls of sprouts you have had to endure, to let go of that conversation of where you were going to spend New Year’s Eve and it turned out you had to dance with an aged aunt who couldn’t keep her hands to herself and the almost impossible task of acting surprised when your nearest and dearest bought you the one present you had dropped more hints about than a teenager trying his luck with the cider bottle. For in all things to do with the festive season, sprouts, groping aunts and drunk young teenagers matter not a single jot, however the return of Glossom with their new two track E.P. deserves full attention; there truly is no contest.

Brother is a beautifully set of two composed songs from the band and which really steams in with vigour and well placed pride, it is within keeping of the group’s mindset that these songs should appear in timely fashion. With the excellent Alex Cottrell and Anthony Kastelanides providing lead vocals on a track each, and as always supported with unblemished cool by Gareth Elliott and Gareth Dawson and with a reed and brass section supplied by James Orrin, Benedict Ewan and Sisulu Tweedle, both The Brother and The Knife and Thanks stand out as being two songs of drama and introspection.

With Alex Cottrell and Anthony Kastelanides working well together, something that is truly no surprise, at the changes and pressures involved of swapping vocal duties in one E.P. the music flows as well as anything that Glossom have released before.

To have Glossom back in the studio and producing a piece of musical art is to breathe a sigh of relief, it is to find a semblance of life not turned over in favour of big time excuses; a welcome return and one that catches the point of working as a team.

Ian D. Hall