About
New York City gave rock fans plenty to talk about in the mid-2000s, and The Bravery were right in the thick of it. Fronted by the charismatic Sam Endicott and rounded out by guitarist Michael Zakarin, bassist Mike H., keyboardist John Conway, and drummer Anthony Burulcich, the band emerged from the downtown NYC scene around 2003 and quickly became one of the more polarizing acts of the post-punk revival era. Their slick, synth-heavy sound drew inevitable comparisons to The Killers, a rivalry that got genuinely heated in the press for a while.
Musically, The Bravery landed squarely in new wave-influenced indie rock territory, blending driving guitar riffs with pulsing keyboards and Endicott's cool, detached vocal delivery. Their 2005 self-titled debut was a certified sleeper hit, spawning the infectious single An Honest Mistake that got serious radio and MTV rotation. The follow-up The Sun and the Moon arrived in 2007 and showed a band willing to push into darker, moodier sonic landscapes, while Stir the Blood in 2009 leaned even harder into atmospheric production.
Though The Bravery never quite achieved the staying power of some contemporaries, they captured a very specific cultural moment when danceable rock with a dark edge ruled alternative radio. They went on indefinite hiatus around 2011, but An Honest Mistake alone earns them a permanent spot in the 2000s rock conversation.
