THE BRAINS – Drunk Not Dead

Take the fury of slap bass-driven psychobilly and mix it with the crooning vocal styles found in the swing revival sound, and you wlll get the The Brains and their new album, Drunk Not Dead.
 
I must admit that I’m not that familiar with this band, but I do love the lightning-fast psychobilly sound that’s associated with acts like Nekromantix, Tiger Army, and The Reverend Horton Heat. Immediately I was taken in by the opening track, “Four Beast Ride,” with its amazingly fast slap-bass and driving guitars, along with the somewhat out of place crooner vocals of Rene D La Muete. D La Muete’s vocals remind me a lot of Murder By Death’s vocalist Adam Turla (especially the sound of Murder By Death’s song “Brother”), but Muete’s style comes across more along the lines of a lounge singer — Michael Andrew from the swing band Swingerhead comes to mind.

While Muete’s vocals reflect that retro sound, the music does not. Some cuts like “Six Rounds” and “Drunk Not Dead” are more melodic in their sound, reminiscent of The Living End. The harder tracks on the album, such as “Oh Murder” and “High On Speed,” are heavy on guitars and group vocals.

Overall, the 13 tracks featured on Drunk Not Dead are extremely enjoyable. Full of high energy and excellent instrumentation, The Brains are a band I am glad to have discovered.

(Stomp Records, 1223 Blvd. Saint-Laurent, Suite 305, Montreal, QC H2X 2S6 Canada)