With their fifth studio album,
United We Stand,
Brad have been a band for almost 20 years. Living in the shadow of guitar player
Stone Gossard's other band
Pearl Jam for the entirety of their existence, it's impossible to extract
Brad from their associations to one of the foundational forces of grunge. The ten songs on
United We Stand fall somewhere between the sound of incomplete
Pearl Jam demos and lazy jam band pop. A ramshackle live-in-the-studio production is apparent throughout the album. Songs like "A Reason to Be in My Skin" and "Miles of Rope" sound more organic than produced. The creaky Americana-leaning "Make the Pain Go Away" sounds off-the-cuff as well, with buried cellos peeking out sheepishly from behind vocalist
Shawn Smith's husky ramble. From the unfinished murk of their debut to their long-shelved 2010 full-length Best Friends?,
Brad have embraced the "warts-and-all" mentality of leaving in the mistakes in favor of a more visceral live sound. Like post-'90s
Pearl Jam, the band has a dedicated following and long-term fans will probably find much to enjoy on
United We Stand. ~ Fred Thomas