Brave Rival: 5 to 4 Review

On October 17th, Brave Rival will release their first EP as a four-piece, titled 5 to 4. Brave Rival is a British rock band made up of lead vocalist Lindsey Bonnick, percussionist/acoustic guitarist/backup vocalist Donna Peters, Ed  “The Shred” Clark on guitars and backing vocals, and Billy Deadman on bass guitar and backing vocals. The band has won a slew of UK Blues awards, including Band of the Year 2025. 5 to 4 is a very solid hard/pop rock album with a clear blues edge.

The EP is just over 30 minutes long, split between eight songs, five of which are originals and three of which are acoustic versions of other songs on the record. 5 to 4 is a great showcase of a versatile hard rock band that would be right at home in any big festival lineup. Their songs are catchy, anthemic, and danceable. 

In listening, two main points emerged to hammer home about the album. The first is that “Try Again,” the middle song on the album, coming in at just under eight minutes, is something of a masterpiece. Starting out with a slow acoustic intro that feels like one of the older Black Sabbath ballads before turning into a big rocker with great guitar tone, big wail-y bridges and solos, the song is big and classic, and timeless. In my opinion: a perfect blues rock tune.  

The second big point is that the three acoustic covers of “Poison,” “Control,” and “Wild Child” are all significant improvements over the plugged-in versions. The vocals really soar in the acoustic mixes; the change in arrangement and instrumentation creates a different atmosphere that can feel in turn, like Medieval inspired metal songs, old timey country murder ballads, and juke joint stompers. The “Wild Child” acoustic version in particular significantly changes the feel of the song, going from a rockabilly-tinged pop rock tune to a country blues rocker, even starting off with a different guitar intro, somewhat reminiscent of Chuck Berry’s “Roll Over Beethoven.”

The opener “Let me Rock n’ Roll” is also a nearly perfect song, a fast and energetic girl power breakup anthem with rich vocals and excellent mixing and a catchy pop-informed structure. A note: “Control” is not a bad song at all, but it comes right after “Try Again,” a song that feels like something elementally perfect, which can make the follow up feel a little bit bland. “Control” is almost a heavy metal song, so fast-paced it almost feels like thrash, while “Wild Child,” the last original on the album, has a bit of a rockabilly vibe with plenty of muted chugs and a big, bold radio-friendly chorus. While “Control” and “Wild Child” may feel a bit less unique or individual in their structure and content, overall, 5 to 4 is a really creative and dynamic record.

The highs of 5 to 4 are quite high, just perfect distillations of blues-infused hard rock. Being a hard rock band with heavy blues influences, it would be easy to make comparisons of Brave Rival to similar popular acts like Heart or Halestorm or Joan Jett, but the band also has enough individuality and clear direction in their music that they don’t feel redundant or imitative. 5 to 4 is a very solid performance from a band feeling their way through being a four-piece for the first time. The record is well worth a listen for hard rock fans, alt rock fans, and blues rock fans. 

The Review: 8/10

Can’t Miss Tracks

– Try Again
– Let Me Rock N Roll
– Wild Child (Acoustic)

The Big Hit

– Try Again