I love the cover of BRANDY‘s new LP, The Gift of Repetition. It’s a bunch of broken smartphones and ink blots that, if you look at them just right, spell out the record’s title. I can’t help but wonder if the pictured phones ended up in such a state from being dropped in mosh pits at BRANDY shows because the record is a fury of punk rock that is perfect for shaking you out of your smartphone-induced zombie state.
Opener “(Wish You Was) Madball Baby” has a great, yes, repetitive post-punk drum and bass beat while sings / yells about the desire that a lover would just go off the hinges now and then. The guitars on “Dangle” deftly move back and forth between roars and fuzzy fills.
“I’m Shipping Up to Boston” might have you stomping the gas pedal if you hear it while driving. It’s like fuel injection for your bloodstream that will have you turning into a bobblehead. The bass licks on “UFO’s 2 Heaven” are great, and the whole tune bumps with punk attitude and “We’ve got these chops and we’re going to flaunt them.” spirit.
“Christmas Colors” adds synths to the mix to make you turn and mess with your head and confound you with lyrics like “Wearing my red and greens, mistletoe magazines.” The jingle bells are also a nice touch. “Clown Pain” might be about kinky sex, as the band keeps yelling, “Thank you for my clown pain!” over fun and loud guitar chords before it devolves into trippy synth sludge. “Text Home” has the heaviest, fuzziest bass on the whole record – which I love. “Insane Screensaver” closes the album with New York Dolls-like swagger and kiss-off lyrics like, “Guess what? Your mommy don’t care!”
This is a fun punk rock record. We need more stuff like this right now, especially as winter bears down on us here in the U.S. We need to be slapped awake and encouraged to jump on our beds and dance around our places as we self-isolate, and this is a great record for that soundtrack.
Keep your mind open.
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