Eamon Hamilton has come a long way since he joined British Sea Power as the roving percussionist and serial oddball near the turn of the decade. This, his fourth LP with the fractious Brakes, is a document of the band at their most uncompromising. Combining the vision of their three studio records and adding the frenetic energy of their live shows, this is not so much a record, as a document of one man and his skewed vision.

But somehow some of the nuances of seeing Brakes in an old meat locker, a cider soaked students’ union or a plain shit hole is lost. The sense of unease and the self-depreciation is swapped for moot applause and post-song static.

Whilst their studio albums were by no-means slick, there is a jagged edge here that doesn’t quite rightly sit. ‘Heard About Your Band’ is transposed from a short, sweet shot in the arm to a souped up beast. Rather than adding to the impact, this detracts from the impression made by one of the indie-rock’s most-overlooked moments of the decade.

Elsewhere, the disappointment of ‘Beatific Visions’ is turned around; ‘Cease and Desist’ gets the drive it always deserved. Distortion rings out across a cacophonous percussion, whilst Eamon’s vocal is psyched. The jump from the slicked back rock of the verse into the not-quite-freak-out of the chorus comes without warning and restores a bit of energy to an inconsistent set.

On the whole Live… captures Brakes in their stride but even more so captures them as they leave their Pixies-esque oddball indie-schtick behind instead their pseudo-freak outs are here portrayed as close to straight up indie rock.

It’s not that Brakes have become boring by any means, but there is an element to their sound, at least in a live capacity, moving closer to the mainline. Now, that’s not exactly a slur…and it was never meant to be, but there is something about Brakes to be cherished…maybe the touring has taken its toll. Maybe its progress, but at any rate don’t expect any retreading of former glories here. For Brakes it’s about the moment, even if that isn’t quite what you had expected, it might still be worthwhile after all.

Will Metcalfe