Thursday, March 28, 2013

Brainiac - Electro-Shock For President


Label: Touch And Go
Year: 1997

Unfortunately, the final release from Brainiac, as singer Tim Taylor passed away after a car accident the same year it came out.
Produced by Jim O'Rourke, it documents the band getting further away from their noisy punk roots and embracing the pseudo-futuristic Kraut rock and ambient sides of their personalities. There's more synth/Moog sounds than previous records, and "atmosphere" trumps aggression by a long shot. Only the final track, "Mr. Fingers", hearkens to the glitchy ferocity and swagger of their earlier albums.

DL

2 comments:

MarsHottentot said...

I thought it was pretty cool record, even though I did describe it as "Two Inch Nails".

You know, they were signed to a major (I think it was Interscope?) just after this was released? For a glimpse at what they had in store, check the first Enon record (which was, essentially a Brainiac / Skeleton Key mash up), which has a few ideas that were obviously from Brainiac.

Supposedly there's a 'final' demo out there, though I've never heard it.

Nyal said...

"Two Inch Nails"? Found a CD of this at CD Alley, Chapel Hill, NC, recently and had a nice reminisce with the lady behind the counter. They were one of the most innovative acts of their day, way more unconventional and confrontational than the likes of Trent Reznor. There was nor ever will be the like: DEVO's ugly child meets Sonic Youth's disturbed sibling meets Nirvana's genius half-cousin...Smack Bunny Baby, Bonzai Superstar, and then Hissing Prigs in Static Couture.


 
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