As Fay mentioned in the article she wrote for this issue (Oct), no band seems to evolve as often as Brandtson. If the shock between Six Feet Deep and "Letterbox" was not enough for you, get ready for another striking mutation with "Fallen Star Collection."
This album is much less guitar dominated, with a lot more musical diversity and traditional emo elements balancing the overall sound, thinning it out a little. The cool thing is that they manage to utilize the traditional emo elements without becoming just another emo band. Their power is still there, just not as omni-present. The lyrics are great, even more interesting than on "Letterbox," displaying a more rounded character and colorful personality. "Summer in St. Claire" stands out as the most touching song, in its simple, understated lyrics, and bleeding chorus. On a spiritual level, "New Favorite Pastime" also finds a special place in my heart. With its plodding whimsy and mournful reflection, it offers a genuine perspective on human self-pity, anxiety, and frustrated apathy, and ends in the hope that most self pity seeks, a comforting reassurance from the Divine. Very beautiful stuff.
Other coverage for this album
Decapolis 1999Reviewed by ConradOne of the only emo bands that I might end up liking. Why? It's poppy. And unlike other emo bands who think there is only response to emotion - whine, Brandtson ranges from standard emo to upbeat happy emo-pop. This album is enhanced by the diversity of songs (slow to upbeat) - BIG PLUS. The creativity of the music is good too. One not so good element is it does have the emo-voice whine thing…Decapolis 1999Reviewed by MarkBrandtson has improved quite a bit since their first album, Letterbox. The music's still in that indie/emo vein, but the songs offer a lot more variety and the musicianship and sound quality is much better this time around. Fans of the aforementioned genres should really like this. BDecapolis 1999Reviewed by TimThis is tiring to me, but the faster songs are very good. It's enjoyable for emo/indie people. CDecapolis 1999Reviewed by Tom BastianYou know how most bands that you really like you have probably seen in concert at least once, if not dozens of times. Well I would definitely consider myself a big fan of Brandtson, yet I still haven't seen them live. I don't know if it's just the fact that they don't tour very much, or the fact that I just didn't know when they were on tour, or if they just simply have not come to my area of the…The Phantom Tollbooth 1999Reviewed by Joe RockstrohBrandtson is back with their second album for Deep Elm Records, but this is not the natural follow-up to Letterbox. The massive guitar riffs that defined the last album are gone, and Brandtson has also abandoned their post-hardcore sound for indie rock/emo sensibilities, with a decent amount of success. Sadly, the stuff of Fallen Star Collection hardly sounds like the same band that recorded…Similar sounding releases
1999Further Seems Forever / Recess TheoryFrom the 27th State
2003The Jealous SoundKill Them With Kindness
2004Action ToolbeltAction Toolbelt
2003Slow Coming DayFarewell to the Familiar
2004Blue Sky MileSands Once Seas
2001Jimmy Eat WorldBleed AmericanMore from Brandtson
2000Trying to Figure Each Other Out
2003Death and Taxes
2004Send Us A Signal
2002Dial In Sounds
1997Letterbox
