I know we all need to try and understand one another. And I guess there’s a pervasive feeling that we all need to figure out how to do that now more than ever. But it’s so hard. And it often feels so empty to hear that sentiment again and again, right? I mean, I get it. We’re all connected. We have more in common than we think. We shouldn’t be so quick to judge, to dismiss, to hate. But sometimes, doesn’t it seem like all these ideas have become empty platitudes, rather than sincere aspirations?
The magic of Bryan Brophy’s “Killer Brother” is that it manages to shake out the cobwebs and to remind us that we are all human beings, and that that’s what matters, above all else. How does he do it? Well, first of all, he hooks us in with a set of direct and moving lyrics. “I know you’re hurting now,” he sings. “I’ve been hurting longer.” Hmm. That’s an interesting balance between an expression of sympathy for another and an articulation of the weight of one’s own pain. It’s interesting enough, in fact, for him to earn the next lines: “I know you think you’re strong / Together we’re stronger.” Finally, when he admits in the chorus that “Oh, you’re part of me, Killer Brother,” even a slouching ne’er do well like me has to nod his head in agreement.
And it doesn’t hurt that I’m already nodding my head to the infectious rhythm of the song. It makes you want to close your eyes and let yourself be drawn in. The drum track thuds and slaps hypnotically. The haunting chords and arpeggios on the keyboard cast a sort of spell. And the smart, sad melody of a solo horn almost makes you want to cry. And that’s the kind of mind-state the song puts you in even before a single lyric has been sung. It’s a complete musical and lyrical package. “Killer Brother” is a song with a message that really deserves to be heard.