Dublin based male/female four-piece The Brilliant Things are Marie Junior (formerly Sweet T, who scored a hit with a cover of The Mekons’ ‘I Love A Millionaire’), studio wiz and multi-instrumentalist Greg French, his cousin, Geoff French on drums and Mia Fitzgerald on bass.
They may have come together in the studio, but this is no manufactured group. All of the band members have impressive CVs in their own right and have worked with an impressive roster of international names.
One listen to their major label debut confirms that this is unashamedly commercial pop/rock with no manifesto or agenda whatsoever other than making memorable music. What you see, or more precisely, what you hear, is what you get (though that said, they look great too!) The upbeat opener, ‘Something To Say’ boasts the cleverness of The Cardigans, the synth-pop textures of The Eurhythmics and the sheer joy of the Spice Girls in the vocal harmony department.
With its dramatic intro, ‘Young’ comes across as a clever blend of The Weather Girls, ‘It’s Raining Men’ and Nena’s 80’s classic ,‘99 Red Balloons‘ with just a hint of The Corrs somewhere in the mix (no surprises there – Marie is the daughter of Corrs manager, John Hughes).
The irresistibly catchy ‘My Radio’ has hit single potential written all over it while ‘Resolution #9’ is as good as any pop ballad in the genre. Elsewhere, ‘Girls Can Be Mean’ will appeal to the teen Avril Lavigne/Miley Cyrus fans, while ‘Revolution’ is the most full-on rock song on the record. Only one caveat: the studio vocal effects on ‘Pointless’ seem a tad, er, pointless, given the obvious quality and purity of Marie’s voice. But overall, it is very slickly produced and arranged.
In short this is a fine debut. Could they be the next big thing to come out of Ireland? I wouldn’t bet against it!