Album Review: Proper Confessions by Brightview (by Emma Prew)

Brightview are a three-piece emo-punk band from Bad Nauheim, Germany, that Colin and I recently discovered on Bandcamp. Their latest release, Proper Confessions, was released in early September and the band describe its as being ‘six songs coming straight from our heartstrings’. I don’t know about you, but that sounds right up my street.

Proper Confessions kicks off with Scissor Fight, which is upbeat from the outset with a big melodic guitar part and pounding drums. The instruments take somewhat of a backseat for the opening verse as Brightview sing nostalgically of coming home and trying to grow up and be an adult – which is easier said than done sometimes. The volume is cranked up for an impassioned and catchy chorus that, in another time, I could easily imagine being shouted along to in a basement venue. Continuing the theme of nostalgia, 455 gives me instant Gaslight Anthem vibes – which is absolutely never a bad thing – and also perhaps a hint of fellow Germany-(via USA)-based punks Little Teeth. The opening verse of ‘We spent nights raising glasses, Singing to our favourite songs, Always annoyingly loud, off-key, Singing ’til our pain was gone’ hits all too close to home in these corona times we’re living in but it’s brilliant nonetheless. 455 is perhaps a little slower paced that the opening track but it certainly doesn’t lack any emotion. Rainbow Shoes is the name of the third song on the EP, featuring a fairly lengthy instrumental introduction – at least compared to the previous two songs – it feels like Brightview are setting themselves up for big things. There’s a great chugga-chugga guitar part that, alongside a bold rhythm section, really seems to drive the song forward. Something about the vocal delivery of the chorus brings to mind Against Me! which is further confirmed with a clap-along bridge right at the end of the song.

Band-Aid is the first of two ‘love’ songs on Proper Confessions. The track is a slower paced one which suits the sombre theme perfectly as Brightview sing of a relationship that didn’t work out. There’s some lovely warm guitar melodies interwoven between verses and some subtle vocal harmonies towards the end of the song that ensure the song doesn’t feel too melancholic. Fine is the second of the aforementioned love-themed songs but, instead of taking the same sad route as the previous track, it’s almost immediately clear that this is a more positive ending of a relationship – at least from the vocalist’s perspective. Understandably the pace is ramped up somewhat here with the whole song feeling like a very cathartic experience, both for the band themselves and for listeners. I’m sure some people will be able to relate to the track’s chorus – ‘It hurts to say that we're not together anymore, I hate to tell you this over the phone, I know that I might be, The greatest asshole you've ever known, I hate to tell you but this is fine for me.’ Bringing Proper Confessions to a close is 14, Across. Opening with palm-muted, distorted guitar and the line ‘Get up and look alive you moron’, Brightview immediately grab your attention with this final track. It’s a hugely melodic hard-hitting tune from start to finish that seems to build and build towards its end, ensuring that the EP finishes with a bang.

Germany is a real treasure trove for punk rock bands and Brightview are a great new addition to CPRW’s list of favourite German bands. Maybe/hopefully we’ll be seeing them at a future [Hamburg] Booze Cruise Festival.

You can stream and download Proper Confessions on Bandcamp and like Brightview on Facebook.

This review was written by Emma Prew.