The Brutalist Bricks

The Brutalist Bricks is the sixth album by the northeast American punk band Ted Leo and the Pharmacists. It was released March 9, 2010^[1] by Matador Records, their first for the label.

The album received a nod from Exclaim! as the number three Punk Album of 2010.^[2]

Promotion

On December 16, 2009, Matador announced a 15-city United States tour to promote The Brutalist Bricks ahead of its release, starting on March 11, 2010 at Cleveland's Grog Shop and finishing on April 10 at Boston's Paradise Rock Club.^[3] On March 31, the band announced new tour dates to further promote the album, beginning on April 2 at New Orleans' One Eyed Jacks venue and ending on July 11 at the Forecastle Festival, all while supporting American rock band the Screaming Females.^[4]

Critical reception

AllMusic writer Tim Sendra praised Leo and his band for crafting "a batch of consistently strong power pop-influenced, punk-tinged rock & roll songs" throughout the album, highlighting Leo's "delivery and total commitment" to "typically knotty and sometimes hard-to-decode lyrics" and the band having a "deep and rich" rhythm section and interesting "sonic touches (handclaps, organ, sirens, sound effects)", concluding that: "In many, if not most, artist's case, making the same record again and again would be seen as a fault. In Leo's case, it's somehow comforting that every few years he'll be along to inspire and cajole his fans with his dedication and passion. The Brutalist Bricks will let no one down in that regard."^[5] Luke Winkie of Slant Magazine felt the record was "peculiarly fresh" even with its "obvious ingredients and well-worn criterion" from previous projects, concluding that "after a three-year break following 2007's (slightly underwhelming) Living with the Living, it seems as good a time as ever for a new Leo album, even if all it does it simply reaffirm him as one of indie's most prolific and continually passionate treasures."^[6] Pitchfork contributor Paul Thompson found the album to be an improvement over Living with the Living, noting the shorten runtime, an array of "tauter, better tunes" and the band providing a "solid backbone" to them. He critiqued that Leo's lyrics came across like "sandwich-board fodder" with its blunt obtuseness, but concluded that "you hit play on Brutalist Bricks and these things seem, at best, like secondary concerns; weak spots and strained metaphors aside, the passionate, instinctual Bricks is the finest record from one of the greats in six rocky years."^[7] Joe Gross of Spin wrote: "Leo has now produced more Pharmacists records while we've been at war than not, and in a world that still needs Fugazi's oppositional fire, The Brutalist Bricks' Dischordant burn is welcome."^[8]

Personnel

Credits adapted from the album's liner notes.^[9]

• Ted Leo – guitar, vocals, mixing
• James Canty – guitar
• Marty Key – bass
• Chris Wilson – drums
• Phil Palazzolo – mixing
• Tim O'Heir – remixing (1, 4, 10)
• Greg Calbi – mastering (Sterling Sound)
• Shawn Brackbill – album photos

Charts

References

1. ^ Gerard (November 30, 2009). "Ted Leo & The Pharmacists – New Album, New MP3, New (Global) Dates". Matador Records. Archived from the original on December 3, 2009. Retrieved November 30, 2009.
2. ^ "Year in Review: Punk". Exclaim!. Archived from the original on December 4, 2010. Retrieved January 4, 2011.
3. ^ White, Adam (December 16, 2009). "Tours: Ted Leo and the Pharmacists (2010)". Punknews.org. Archived August 22, 2015 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved January 29, 2026.
4. ^ Hughes, Josiah (March 31, 2010). "Ted Leo and the Pharmacists Add More Tour Dates, Come to Quebec City, Montreal, Ottawa and Toronto". Exclaim!. Archived September 6, 2017 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved January 29, 2026.
5. ^ Sendra, Tim. "The Brutalist Bricks - Ted Leo & the Pharmacists". AllMusic. Archived January 15, 2013 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved December 13, 2010.
6. ^ Winkie, Luke (February 18, 2010). "Review: Ted Leo and the Pharmacists, The Brutalist Bricks". Slant Magazine. Archived March 16, 2021 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved January 29, 2026.
7. ^ Thompson, Paul (March 9, 2010). "Ted Leo and the Pharmacists: The Brutalist Bricks". Pitchfork. Archived March 9, 2012 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved April 5, 2010.
8. ^ Gross, Joe (February 23, 2010). "Ted Leo and the Pharmacists, 'The Brutalist Bricks' (Matador)". Spin. Archived from the original on February 26, 2010. Retrieved April 5, 2010.
9. ^ The Brutalist Bricks (liner notes). Matador. 2010. OLE-909-2.