Michael Cera Palin – We Could Be Brave | Album Review

Breaking free of their reputation as a cult curiosity, emotive punk trio Michael Cera Palin deliver an incredibly diverse and moving debut album.

Nobody else has had a career quite like Michael Cera Palin. Emerging from the isolated emo scene of Atlanta, Georgia a decade ago, the three-piece, formed of frontman Elliott Brabant, bassist Jon Williams and drummer Jon Buncic, have carved out a small but dedicated niche with fans across the globe. Doing this by only releasing a pair of relatively short EPs, 2016’s Growing Pains and 2018’s I Don’t Know How To Explain It. Now, on their hotly anticipated debut album We Could Be Brave, the trio double down on their intimate, socially aware messaging while expanding on their expressive, math rock infused indie punk sound.

Album opener ‘Feast Or Famine’ acts as a powerful statement of intent for the new era of Michael Cera Palin with heavier, more intricate and catchier sounds than they’ve ever explored before. Breezing in with a gentle Midwest emo guitar melody backed by lightning fast percussion, the track quickly finds its groove with a chugging riff and forceful vocals, building up to a cathartic breakdown decrying selfish landlords hoarding money and property. ‘Feast Or Famine’ makes a strong case for Michael Cera Palin’s latest era with a polished yet familiar sound carrying a timely and personal message.

While in many bands the bassist is content to plod along, keeping time with predictable root note lines, Jon Williams proves himself as one of the emo genre’s most accomplished virtuosos. With intricate lines propping up tracks such as ‘Murder Hornet Fursona’ and ‘A Broken Face’, Williams excels at delivering rapidly paced, technical bass parts which stand up to Brabant‘s off-kilter guitar work.

A clear standout on We Could Be Brave is the queer anti-assimilation anthem ‘Murder Hornet Fursona’ which blends irregular beats and riffs with passionate, shouted vocals for a much-needed 21st century protest song. Building up around Brabant‘s chaotic guitar work and screamed vocals in dance-punk inspired verses, ‘Murder Hornet Fursona’ jabs at powerful people who campaign against queer folks with prudish arguments with both abstract barbs and more direct slashes while bolstering the track’s message with a memorable, anthemic chorus. While Michael Cera Palin’s lyrics have always taken a more ambiguous approach, ‘Murder Hornet Fursona’ provides a target to fling some of their more brutal and focused arrows into.

Although We Could Be Brave shows an abundance of sonic growth for Michael Cera Palin, their zealous fans are sure to feel right at home with plenty of familiar elements returning to the band’s sound. Tracks such as ‘Crypto’, which rallies against the rise of neo-fascism in America with well-trodden slacker rock sounds, or ‘Wisteria’ which applies the band’s tried and tested emotional punk sounds to a classic breakup song formula, incorporate sonic elements which bound to welcome in old fans like a warm hug without feeling like regressing into worn out habits.

The album’s eponymous closing track ‘We Could Be Brave’ is by far Michael Cera Palin’s most ambitious track to date, clocking in at an eye-watering twelve minutes, flowing through countless different sounds for a memorable emo epic. Lasting longer than either of the band’s previous EPs, ‘We Could Be Brave’ winds its way through both familiar sonic territory and wild, uncharted lands, wavering between frantic riffs and melodramatic screams to convey the nonlinear nature of healing without a single beat feeling out of place or unearned. ‘We Could Be Brave’ lives up to its name with an unflinchingly bold finale to one of the most exciting debut albums in recent memory.

With their debut album, emotive indie punk trio Michael Cera Palin cement themselves as a force to be reckoned with and find their place in the wider scene. With personal and powerful lyrics smashed together with intriguingly unpredictable instrumentals, We Could Be Brave proves that great things take time to come together.