Hoping to rid hardcore punk of its tough-guy overtones, the Blood Brothers prance and pirouette onstage, then peddle purses at the merchandise table. Despite its dainty delivery, the group's dual shrieking vocalists and erratic high-volume blasts eventually won over large portions of the mucho macho crowd it encountered on a recent tour with M2 mainstays Glassjaw. If early tracks from the group's forthcoming collaboration with star-making producer Ross Robinson offer any indication, the Brothers might eclipse such mid-major attractions when Burn Piano Island, Burn hits the streets this spring. Though they had been miserly with melodies and confrontationally tuneless with their vocals, the Brothers display a newfound ability to snare listeners with hooks instead of bludgeoning them with blunt instrumentation.
