The Blood Brothers

March on Electric Children (Three One G)
by Scott Hefflon

If you think “alternative” only means spiky-haired boys yelping about girls over the same three chords, man, you need to hear The Blood Brothers. “Noisy, abrasive, discordant” all come to mind quickly, as do “manic, frantic, what spazcore wishes it could be, and emo/noise/screamo bleeorg!,” followed by wide, darting eyes and incoherent gibbering and mad giggling… ArtistDirect scooped this “art-damaged hardcore” act, and Ross Robinson (At the Drive-In and, unfortunately, nü metal) offered to produce. And with good reason. The dark, punky, angular guitarwork of Dead Kennedys, more than a little Marilyn Manson creepiness in a far different context, and noisy, clusterfuck melodies that leap between nasally goblin vocals (I’d say ’80s Mickey Mouse glam, but I mean it as a compliment) and Thursday’s screaming combine in a way that, uh, I’ll never be able to summarize. Some of the tunes are twisted rock anthems, there’s the odd nü metal breakdown, but most of this stuff is fingersnapping, catchy, feel-good music on par with hearing all your belongings fall out the back of a U-Haul and tumble down a big fuckin’ hill. And yeah, emotionally, it’s much the same. Repeated listening (closely supervised) shows layers and themes within the chaotic splattershow, and the closer (a dark piano anthem with the chorus of “You’re married to the Vultures”) sounds like it was recorded in the rec room of a looney bin, Nick Cave and Elton John influences combining with the piano player’s occasional lapses into screaming fits and playing the notes by banging his face on the keys.
(PO Box 178262 San Diego, CA 92177)