Stream Broken Beak Some Nerve (Stereogum Premiere)

Stream Broken Beak Some Nerve (Stereogum Premiere)

Some nerve: An indignant phrase, used to describe someone who has the courage or audacity to do something brave and reactionary, but none of the tact or sensibility to do so without upsetting everyone around them. By naming their debut full-length after such a phrase, Broken Beak — the Philly-based band that counts Modern Baseball’s Brendan Lukens as a member — are setting up a series of expectations: that their narrator is going about things all wrong, or that maybe he’s trying to do the right thing in the completely wrong way. Frontman Beau Brynes shoulders that weight, and spends ten tracks working through his self-destructive behavior and bad habits, coming to terms with the inner demons that make him act out.

Some Nerve about claiming ownership over those actions and the root cause of your mistakes: The opening track rejects that notion — “Sure, the pain will need me/ But the pain is not mine” — but a few songs later, his view has shifted: “Some pain is mine, for just a little bit/ Some pain is fine,” he sings on “Saint.” Another appropriate phrase: nerves of steel. On “Metal,” a churning highlight on the album: “I am okay, though at times I want to be something metal” and “I am on my way to become and a machine and I will rust” and “I am ashamed/ I am the same/ I am afraid that I am to blame.” Admitting that pain is a part of who you are, and accepting culpability for the outlashes that result from that pain, is all a part of growing up, and that takes some nerve. Listen to the full album below.

Tour Dates:
07/07 Philadelphia, PA @ The Pharmacy
07/08 Brooklyn, NY @ Sunnyvale
07/12 Lakewood, OH @ Mahall’s #
08/12 Richmond, VA @ Strange Matter $
08/13 Asheville, NC @ Grey Eagle $%
08/14 Atlanta, GA @ Wrecking Ball $
08/15 Nashville, TN @ Cafe Coco $
08/16 Columbus, OH @ Double Happiness $
08/17 Pittsburgh, PA @ Smiling Moose $
08/19 Philadelphia, PA @ PhilaMOCA (Record Release Show)

# w/ the Hotelier
$ w/ Chris Farren
% w/ Joyce Manor

Some Nerve is out 7/1 via Near Mint Records. Pre-order it here.

more from New Music