Brakes

by MacKenzie Wilson
The ambitious indie rock foursome Brakes features Eamon Hamilton (vocals/guitar), Tom White (guitar), Marc Beatty (bass), and Alex White (drums). During a drunken evening in 2002 after opening for the Lonesome Organist in Brighton, England, Hamilton formed Brakes. Hamilton (no relation to Yan's brother of the same name) was playing with British Sea Power at the time, while Beatty maintained bass duties with the Tenderfoot. The brothers White, also members of Electric Soft Parade, were added to the lineup just in time for Brakes to begin recording at Beatty's own Mokinbird Studios. A deal with Rough Trade followed in January 2005 thanks to Brakes' constant touring and the popularity surrounding the band's "Pick Up the Phone" video. Give Blood followed in September. U.K. gigs with Editors and Belle & Sebastian coincided with Brakes' American performance debut at the annual South by Southwest festival that spring; however, plans for a second album were already in the works. At the invitation of Seth Riddle, Cerys Matthews' husband, Brakes joined producer/engineer Stuart Sikes (Cat Power, the White Stripes, the Walkmen) in Nashville in summer 2006. The end result was the experimental Beatific Visions, which arrived in the U.K. that fall. Upon discovering that there was already a band called the Brakes in the States, the band changed its name to Brakesbrakesbrakes for the U.S. release. Confusingly, they are still commonly referenced as Brakes, for short.