Brain Tentacles
Brain Tentacles
(Relapse Records)
The Chicago based avant-garde metal/jazz trio Brain Tentacles has actually been around since 2015, but this year sees their first full-length and coherent offering in what I’d consider to be a rather strong self-titled debut. A collective of members from bands like Municipal Waste, Yakuza and Keelhaul, the listener can already tell that quite a bit of influence has been injected into this mixture. Thankfully, most of it is completely different from any of the other acts that these guys play in, which is a good thing as I’ve never thought it useful to play the same style of music in other bands. By and large, this is decidedly different – even to the level of Monty Python’s …And Now For Something Completely Different different. Yeah folks, we’re dealing with that kind of different. But maybe not SO different, as I’m certainly drawing parallels to another super group of sorts with a similar sort of experimentalism by the name of Department Of Correction, which is reinforced heavily when the vocal approach is utilized in the same sludgy manner that you might sometimes hear from DOC. That being said, Brain Tentacles are still quite different. Unlike DOC, Brain Tentacles aren’t necessarily serious. This is art and cannot be considered any kind of political record, even if some of the lyrics might contain political agendas. Which I very highly doubt.
In order to really break down this experience, we must explore it – and that’s what I’m about to do in this observation. As for the first two cuts (Kingda and Fruitcake) we’re subjected to very peculiar riff tones that meld in with saxophones (this record is very saxy, folks) in order to create a very bizarre template for what soon erupts with hardened grunts in a sludge fashion. Things are turned on their heads afterwards however, when the comically named “Cosmic Warriors Girth Curse” takes on a bit of a trippy Floor or Kyuss style approach, almost completely rewriting what we’ve heard from this band before. I’d also be lying to you if I didn’t hear a little bit of Killing Joke in there, but Killing Joke can be found almost anywhere, if you’re willing to look. As would Mr. Bungle, which you should almost expect with the very title “avant-garde.” Getting the usual suspects taken care of, we once again return to what we heard in the beginning, a horny approach to sludge that reminds me something of a deep sea voyage. I’m often reminded of old music in sailing films, perhaps from the 1950’s or something. You’d have to watch a lot of those old black and white movies in order to understand what I mean there.
The band aren’t without their share of jokes either, as tracks like “Gassed” and closer “Palantine” demonstrate not only that the band revel in humor, but that they also don’t mind throwing a lengthy prank call at the very end of the disc. It’s pretty funny the first time, but I don’t think it’ll make for repeated listens. Still, you get “The Spoiler” which is a minute or so of unbridled rage, slightly lengthened by “Sleestack Lightning” which further fills out to “The Sadist,” a track that is about as unhinged as one can get. It does round out with some somewhat bleak atmosphere, later rolling into “Fata Morgana” which has the same slightly melancholy feel as the visual novel of the same name. Funny how that works. For the most part, listeners are getting an extremely erratic vocal approach bolted onto this avant-garde/metal and jazz backing which comes across as something I’ve never heard of. You could even call them Acid Bath with horns. That works for me, and I’ll bet they do it just as well on stage. Definitely pick this one up if you’re a fan of sludge and looking for a new approach to the genre. I will say that most of the disc is instrumental, even when vocals are utilized, but that’s fine with me as I see this debut as a sampling of what the band are capable of and hopefully they’ll continue to further innovate this style as time passes.
Purchase Brain Tentacles here.
