The Bravery — The Sun And The Moon

Here, in retrospect, is what we can definitively tell you about The Bravery vs. The Killers feud of 2005: 1. Nobody died. 2. Brandon Flowers was and still is annoying. 3. The Bravery were better, but refused to use the press to their advantage. Two years on, the last point is still true. Almost every critic on the planet bashed the New York group's self-titled debut for being so derivative that it distracted from what a good pop record it actually was. I'll still take "An Honest Mistake" over "Mr. Brightside." And I'll way sooner spin their fun sophomore disc before I ever turn on Sam's Town again. Where their Las Vegas nemeses spent the last year distancing themselves from the new new wave tag, The Bravery decided they don't care what people say they're doing because they do it quite well. The hooks here are just as catchy and Sam Endicott's vocals are as magnetic as they've ever been. Ultimately, The Sun And The Moon serves to ensure their live shows remain the same dance party they were before, so forget that there's a song called "Every Word From Your Mouth Is A Knife In My Ear" and enjoy yourself.