Broken

Cortisol Blues
https://soundcloud.com/Brokenpvd
http://brokenpvd.bandcamp.com/

I’ve always loved the desperation Sean Murphy is able to bring to his vocals, something that he developed during his days in What Feeds The Fire and perfected fronting Verse. With Broken, he has brought this intensity to music that falls outside his Hardcore home, but will speak to many people who grew up in the broader “scene” of punk influenced music that hit in the 90’s.

New England, like many regional scenes, has a strong tradition of birthing bands on the edges of its punk scene that share its ethic, and sometimes aggression, but have a broader sonic palette than the “speed first” mentality: think about Deep Wound morphing into Dinosaur Jr. and Sebadoh, or even Verbal Assault sharing members with Belly. With Broken, Sean has wrangled together a group of collaborators that helped him move through a similar transition, but still allows him to bring a ferocity that is indebted to his years fronting hardcore bands.

Broken’s sound brings to mind the days when bands like Quicksand, and even Snapcase, broadened the strokes of what was acceptable music taste with in the hardcore scene. But Cortisol Blues brings its own textures to the game: think the heavier moments of Illinois’ Hum and the momentum that Jim Ward brought to At the Drive-In. My favorite moment on the album comes approximately 1 minute into the track Irrational Bandages, when a song that could easily have been a 90’s college radio hit, crescendos into the kind of sing-a-long that would have the kids stage-diving in small clubs the world over.

With Cortisol Blues, Broken has put together a collection of tracks that speak to coming out on the other side of youth still broken, still angry, and still alive… just like you entered in.