Random Records with Steve O

Spanish Love Songs - Brave Faces Everyone

I had no idea what I was getting into with Spanish Love Songs. I ordered Brave Faces Everyone for the library I work at, thinking it might go over well. I hadn’t heard them before and figured they were one of those indie/punk/emo bands that populate the Pure Noise Records roster, but maybe a couple notches closer to the indie side of the scale. So imagine my surprise when I get a band that reminds so much of the Menzingers instead. The ten songs that make up Brave Faces Everyone hit a lot of the same vibes as the recent Menzingers records, but it also reminded me of a poppier version of Off With Their Heads or Arms Aloft. Or Junior Battles or the Wonder Years if they sounded dark and moody instead of being so upbeat.

You know a record is catchy when you find yourself singing along at the top of your lungs in your car while driving to work, despite never having looked up the lyrics. Spanish Love Songs write choruses that ingrain themselves into your head, straight out of the OWTH school of self-deprecation. “It won’t be this bleak forever / Yeah right / I hope you’re right / Have you seen me lately?” from “Self-Destruction (As A Sensible Career Choice).” “My bleak mind says it’s cheaper just to die / The prick inside my head’s / laid off and daring me to try / My bleak mind says this is all you got / Hoping all this time but all you’ll find is / It gets harder, doesn’t it?” from “Losers.” Or maybe my favorite line on the whole record, in opener “Routine Pain”, a sly, little (and I hope intentional) nod to Motörhead: “Everything lower than everything else.” Then there’s “Losers 2” a perfect lyrical ode for a generation that sees the rich get richer while trying harder to stay afloat – “Don’t you know you were born to die poor man? / Don’t you know that you’re gonna do yourself in? / And you’ll always wake up tired / Cause there’s nowhere to go from here.” Lyrical perfection for the struggling generation.

“Beach Front Property” is a mix of a mellowness with a bombastic, sing-along chorus. It’s also one of the songs where the keys are prominent, something I wish Spanish Love Songs used more. Piano, organ, and synthesizers add depth to some of the songs, but honestly they just feel so buried. Used in a more prominent role they could add such a unique element to Spanish Love Songs’ sound, like if they had more of a lead instead of just being another instrument in the mix. They peak through on tunes like “Losers 2” or “Self-Destruction.” If I had one complaint with the record, it’s that too often you can barely tell those instruments are there.

Part of the power of music is the connection it can create when you hear it. There are songs and records that hit on a primal level and just speak so powerfully to you. To me, Brave Faces Everyone is one of those records. Much like Off With Their Heads’ In Desolation or The Menzingers’ After the Party this is the record I needed at this point in time. I connected with this so much it’s a little eerie. So yeah, I’m gonna be higher on the record because of that emotional connection, but I still recommend checking it out. It very much feels like a 2020 record (and let’s be honest, 2021 is just a continuation of that wretched year). Definitely gonna have to dig into their back catalog now.

Spend some time with Brave Faces Everyone on Bandcamp and bookmark it for next month’s Bandcamp Friday.