Braindrops

Second album from this Australian rock/riot grrl supergroup. Mostly on lead vocals is Gareth Liddiard (also singer of The Drones, otherwise singer is specified), a ruthlessly polemical lyricist and a scary vocalist. Always near chaos, with noisy guitar scraps flying past, distorted beats, and disconcerting group vocals. As powerful as it is ugly, which is to say, very. RIYL Nick Cave/The Birthday Party, New War, mid-sixties Dylan, Iceage, Liars, Bill Hicks. Favorites: 3, 5, 8, 9. FCC WARNING: 1, 2, 4, 6, 7.

1. (6:15)—FCC (s***). Slow, defeated, quiet start with fried atonal guitar licks. Becomes a bash-out.
2. (4:53)—FCC (f***). Mid-tempo. Crunchy krautrock beat, funk bass.
3. *(4:42)—Medium-slow scrawly funk, kinda reminiscent of the Kills. Nice ending groove. Sung by Erica Dunn, with lyrics about the relationship between Brian Wilson and his psychotherapist.
4. (4:28)—FCC (f***). Seasick beat and guitar squalls, peppy backing vocals, approaching old-school hip-hop through noise.
5. *(3:57)—Slow, surprisingly pretty. Peaceful at start and end, with a noisy build.
6. (6:42)—FCC (many). Swinging mid-tempo groove, almost smooth in spots.
7. (5:15)—FCC (f***). Slow decayed beat, minimal guitars.
8. *(4:14)—Instrumental. Sounds like a very broken orchestral 78. Eerie.
9. *(7:50)—Slow, languid desert post-rock. Explosive finale. A fable about neo-fascist ideology moving from the fringes of society and toward the center.