Tag: Brother O’ Brother

Review: Brother O’ Brother – Monster Truck

Indianapolis’ power blues-rock duo Brother O’ Brother‘s new EP, Monster Truck (which you can download for free, by the way), rumbles by as loud and hard as its namesake.

Opening with “Unleavened,” the band chugs through a swampy mix of blues wails, garage rock riffs, and metal drums.  The title track refers to the power of a crazy relationship.  There’s no sex like crazy sex, after all.  “GOLD” is a blazing psychedelic jam that has the band in fifth gear by this point.

“Howlelujah” is, apart from being one of the best-named tracks of 2018, a loud, sweaty, dangerous blues cut that plows through muddy distortion and rams through your speakers with a wild jam.  “Must Be Blind” is a screaming, shredding diatribe against a bad relationship the singer should’ve seen coming, but it was too hot to resist at the time.  The EP ends with “Omni,” another powerful drum and guitar slugfest.

Monster Truck is over far too soon, but any rock like this you can get is good – especially when it’s this good.

Keep your mind open.

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Top 30 albums of 2017: #’s 20 – 16

It’s top twenty time!

#20 – Brother O’ Brother – Neon Native

I’m happy to include some “local” (as in from the same state as I) cats on my list of top albums of the year.  This is a blistering garage-blues record that further proves you don’t need a lot of fancy gadgets and studio trickery to make hard-hitting rock.  They’re one of my favorite discoveries of the year.

#19 – The New Pornographers – Whiteout Conditions

This album is one of the best reactions to the year in politics that was 2017.  Band leader Carl Newman has openly spoken about how the 2016 election and his battle with depression formed a lot of the songs on this record, but it’s not all doom and gloom.  There’s a lot of hope on this fine power pop album, and we all need a lot of that right now.

#18 – Thundercat – Drunk

I didn’t expect to pick up a jazz fusion record this year, but this one is certainly outstanding and was all over the place in 2017.  It made the top of many lists, too, and for good reason.  It’s an incredible concept album about the day in the life of a guy who parties too much and knows he’ll probably regret it later.  It’s the closest we’ll get to a Frank Zappa album any time soon.

#17 – Priests – Nothing Feels Natural

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I got on a big post-punk kick this year and albums like this are the reason why.  It’s a vicious takedown on corporate bigwigs, consumerism, and greed, and the music is sharp as a hatchet.

#16 – The Black Angels – Death Song

If you know me, then you’re not surprised that a Black Angels record made my top 30.  They’re one of my favorite bands, and this album is one of their hardest-hitting in a long while.  It, too, is a bit of a reaction to the 2016 election and the country we’re now living in and seeing on the nightly news, but the Black Angels also let us know that all things are transient and this, too, will pass.

We’re halfway to home!  Who makes the cut?  Come back soon to find out.

Keep your mind open.

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Brother O’ Brother – Neon Native

Indianapolis rock duo Brother O’ Brother are busy making solid records in the middle of a state practically ignored by the music industry and touring bands.  Their latest, Neon Native, is a prime example of a nearly secret vibrant music scene in the Hoosier state’s capital.

Opening with “R.O.S.E.,” the album immediately submerses you into Brother O’ Brother’s psychedelic blues and powerful riffs.  You can hear influences ranging from the Black Keys to the Black Angels in the first few chords.  “16 Flowers” brings in a slight punk edge and flattens everything around you.  It’s one of the most powerful songs I’ve heard all year.  “Sunshine” has a southern rock vibe before it blows up into something you might hear from Zen Guerilla,  “Grab the Rope” gets off to a raucous start with soulful yet rough vocals and then a chugging beat that doesn’t let up for the whole track.

“I Got It” continues the rock and roll fury with guitar work that sounds like strings are going to break at any moment.  “I Confess” has some psychedelic sludge that I love.  “Cardinal” is, on it’s surface, a song about the beauty of a bird, but it’s also about the beauty of a lover, killer guitar work, and slam-tastic beats.  “Fever” is just as powerful in its subtlety as we hear about a “sweet love” who inspires guitar chords that Jack White dreams about at night.

Even the acoustic guitar on “White Noise” has a fierce energy to it. “Take Me” brings back the electric fuzz and ups the blues influences.  Their cover of David Bowie‘s “Life on Mars” ups the Mick Ronson fuzzed-out guitars and is almost unrecognizable at first (but it’s still great).  “Widow Maker” could be a Thin Lizzy B-side.

Don’t let anyone tell you rock and roll is dead.  It isn’t.  Brother O’ Brother is living proof.   They’re one of my favorite discoveries of the year.

Keep your mind open.

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