Brume (pronounced ‘Broom’) are living proof that California is not all sunshine and easy living. The San Francisco-based quartet organically blends doom metal, goth, and indie rock into a sometimes monolithic, sometimes delicate blend of heaviness that resides firmly on the darker side.

After a decade of sultry sounds and hair-raising crescendos, Brume push sonic experimentation and delightful genre-bending even further on their third full-length album “Marten”. The expansion into a four-piece with the addition of Jackie Perez Gratz on cello and vocals has opened a cosmos of new possibilities that the Californians determinedly explore. Weaving soaring melodies over melancholic doom pop generates songs that are equally intimate and haunting yet also massive and crushing.

Brume originally formed as a trio in 2014 when guitarist Jamie McCathie from Bristol, England began making music with bass player and vocalist Susie McMullan from Baton Rouge, Louisiana after discovering a shared passion for both trip-hop and sludge. The addition of Jordan Perkins-Lewis on drums completed the line-up with his rich and experimental style of drumming, and set the stage for the band’s recordings.

The trio quickly gained momentum with their doom metal albums “Rooster” (2017) and “Rabbits” (2019), the former being named “Album of the Year” by The Ripple Effect and the latter earning the top spot on Wonderbox Metal’s “Best of 2019” list. Brume also left their mark onstage, appearing at Desertfest London in 2017 and Desertfest New York and SXSW in 2019, along with many more shows on both sides of the Atlantic.

On third album “Marten”, Brume perfectly balance the melancholic power of the cello with forceful vocals and dueling guitar conversations. The complex mood swings that seamlessly move from sensuous and restrained to soaring and explosive found a perfect producer in Sonny DiPerri (Emma Ruth Rundle, Lord Huron, Portugal The Man). With the right engineer behind the board, the San Franciscans adopted a songwriting approach that emphasised poetry and lyrics rather than starting with a riff. This way of working uncovered a more vulnerable side of the band.

With “Marten”, Brume take a bold step toward their musical future by challenging first themselves and now listeners to move from comfortable spaces toward more challenging, less familiar destinations.

http://brumeband.com

Cover by General LLC

Recording date: March 2, 2024

People present: Jamie | Jordan | Arthur

Notes: recorded on Zoom

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