thebrotheregg - Snowflake & Fingerprint Machine (CD, Rubric, Pop)
Ultimately satisfying obscure pop music with a difference. thebrotheregg have come into their current public consciousness through their association with The Bevis Frond's Nick Saloman. The two acts played a live show together back in 1998 after which "the egg" sent their demo tapes around to several labels. Saloman loved the tapes, and signed them to his Woronzow label (the British label that is closely associated with Rubric). Listening to Snowflake & Fingerprint Machine, the connection between Nick and this Portland band seems obvious. thebrotheregg play what is best described as underground pop. Interestingly, despite the high quality of the material on this album, this band will most likely be supported by a tiny fragment of the music listening community. The main reason is that there are no potential hits on this album. Overall, the feeling we get when listening to this is the same general reaction we have when listening to Sparklehorse. The tunes are subtle and grow on the listener slowly. Unlike Sparklehorse, these gentlemen use a great deal of three part harmonies that are most inviting (a bit reminiscent of Pink Floyd at times). This album won't hit you over the head...but will instead creep under your skin and stay with you for years to come. Another great item from the fine folks at Rubric... (Rating: 5+)
- Baby Sue
thebrotheregg, “Negative Space,” from Snowflake and Fingerprint Machine (Rubric/Woronzow)
January 17th, 2007 [11:17AM] Posted by: Amy McCullough
http://localcut.wweek.com/?p=1155
This track is an oldie but goodie from capital-letter-and-space-bar-challenged eclectic rock quartet thebrotheregg. “Negative Space” was originally released in 2002, but it’s rich, layered instrumentation and curious, half-buried lyrics stand as a strong testament to what this band can achieve at its busiest best.
It begins with a countdown delivered by what sounds like an odd, computer generated baby. “Negative Space” then teases with some (apt for the week’s weather) sleigh bell noises before launching into a barrage of boisterous yet dark piano rock that’s wonderfully laced with horns.
There’s so much happening in this song it’s a wonder it doesn’t just come off messy, but thebrotheregg keeps all the track’s melodies tight and consistent. The result, rather than confusion, is familiarity. The skipping, stepping piano, most notably, acts as the tie that binds this song’s myriad parts.
“Negative Space” keeps you so engaged throughout that when it builds into a cacaphonous noise breakdown at the end, you ultimately feel satisfied (instead of annoyed). It’s a blissful piano-pop laden jam that reaches its climax only to fall apart, which just makes you want to pick up the pieces and start over again.
thebrotheregg’s next show is Saturday, Feb. 10, at Kelly’s Olympian. 9:30 pm. $3. 21+.
www.myspace.com/thebrotheregg
www.thebrotheregg.com
Photo: from the band’s MySpace.
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thebrotheregg
Snowflake & Fingerprint Machine
Woronzow WOO47, £13.99
WHILE Mercury Rev have become the totemic token that currently enables journalists to employ their favourite, poetic, windswept cathedral of sound clichés, they're merely the most high- profile example of a distinctly American substratum of modern-day psychedelia. Portland, Oregon's the Brother Egg have the same bases covered, and stand with one foot in a recognisable rock tradition and the other set squarely on the surface of the moon. Typically, Fingerprint opens with the curve ball of a duet for acoustic bass and the sound of some water being sloshed around, before revealing the lush, baroque pop song within.
- London Sunday Times
thebrotheregg
Snowflake & Fingerprint Machine
(Woronzow)
Portland quintet thebrotheregg specializes in the kind of dreamy, casual psychedelia of the Elephant 6 crowd (Olivia Tremor Control, the Minders, Beulah, etc.), where technical precision isn't as important as imagination and overall feel. Off-kilter harmonies, jazzy double bass lines, Bacharachian piano chords, folky acoustic guitars and enigmatic lyrics slither in and out of the airy arrangements with subtle grace. At times the music sounds like it may slide into the kind of carelessness that characterizes so many contemporary psych/pop acts, but it always rights itself by hewing closely to leader Adam Goldman's tuneful musings. The band gently moves from slightly skewed pop ("Negative Space") to trippy folk ("Dormant Podling") and smoldering epics ("Cauldron of Eyeball Soup") with nary a stumble. Some of these songs fade into the background a bit too easily, the result of the band never raising its voice above a mumble. Overall, though, Snowflake & Fingerprint Machine is a very pleasant trip. Michael Toland
For fans of: Olivia Tremor Control, Love, the Caribbean
- HighBias.com
thebrotheregg "snowflake and fingerprint machine" (Woronzow, 75 Melville Road, Walthamstow, London E17 6QT, UK http://www.woronzow.co.uk/) Portland Oregon pop magician Adam Goldman has concocted a dizzyingly inventive psychedelic pop masterpiece with this collection of a dozen shimmering gems, aided by his 4-piece band and abetted by nine others. Woozy, like a vast stage set being blow askew by an errant breeze, but overflowing with melodic turns and sidestreets, horns that circle like smoke-rings, string quartets trace outlines, and sprightly guitars emerge from soft chaos. Densely packed with details and ingenuity. I want to say Olivia Tremor Control meets Ring at Mercury Rev's barbeque, but it's hardly that simple; with lost histories of intricate sorrows from a gone world and vain attempts to describe paradise. This is a thoroughly engaging introduction to the inner world visions of this young pop wizard, and one of my favorite moments of 2001 so far.
- George Parsons
Dream Magazine #2
Music don't learn idiots nothing
Published on 10/31/2002 in the local planet (spokane)
by Melissa Amos
thebrotheregg keep playing, despite idiots and money. In the music world, there are those who stick to a proven formula and those who choose to kiss caution good-bye and dive headfirst into experimentation. thebrotheregg belongs to the latter category, incorporating a spectrum of instruments and sounds into their symphonic pop/rock. For them, even mosquitoes buzzing and frogs croaking are eligible for inclusion in the musical landscape. “We get excited about stuff like that,” says quasi-director Adam Goldman. “I mean, if we’re able to do something that’s unusual rather than imposing sanctions on each other to make things sound palatable.” He trails off before adding with a laugh, “We get excited about dissonance.”
Goldman, who has been the one constant throughout thebrotheregg’s lifetime, started the band in his excitement over sound nearly eleven years ago, and, like an orphaned but impossibly genius child, it has followed him ever since. From his original home in Chicago to Olympia to his present home in Portland, the band has attracted dozens of members with its experimental, ethereal sound. What Goldman calls the “high turnover rate of band members,” though, is mainly the result of his own dedication to musical exploration. However much he defers credit, it’s clear that thebrotheregg is largely the brain child of a man completely dedicated to the music; while the various other members of the band may be pulled away by their tumultuous lives, Goldman seems to cultivate a singularity of focus. He plays because he has to and because he loves it — not because he’s in a band.
The result of Goldman’s dedication is that he often ends up playing shows solo when the other “four or five” members can’t make it. These stripped down acoustic shows, which he calls “Songs of thebrotheregg,” are a chance for both Goldman and the audience to focus on the message behind the songs. Unfortunately, this doesn’t always go over well with audiences who are into hard rock and metal. When Songs of thebrotheregg appeared in Spokane last month, for instance, Goldman was offered $20 to stop playing. Obviously, the drunken asshole who approached him with this offer mid-song missed the line in “Telescopes” that wisely counsels, “Music don’t seem to learn idiots nothing.” Luckily, Goldman heeds his own words of wisdom and remains optimistic, saying that “there’s always a few kids who know what’s up, and it’s all for them.”
Goldman’s ability to brush off the idiots stems largely from a certain idealism about what music should be. Raised on “Reagan-era punk rock” with all its ideological progressiveness, he believes that music should carry a message behind the sound. Although thebrotheregg departs significantly in a stylistic sense, it remains true to the punk rock goal of “speaking to your people,” as Goldman says with tongue in cheek. This is often accomplished with Kerouacian stream of consciousness lyrics — the kind that don’t always make sense but are all the more meaningful because of it. “Adjusting a piano, not just fussing with its strings, fanatical about twisted branches conducting the orchestra with electricity from outstretched moonbeams,” the lyrics of “Theta Clear” say. Sure, the message is often funny and offbeat, but there’s always something more behind it — a thought, an image, a phrase capable of nestling in the walls of your brain.
While he’s careful to avoid being critical, there’s also a definite annoyance evident in Goldman’s voice when he discusses the more vacuous aspects of the music industry, like radio: “It’s maddening. It is absolutely maddening, what people expose themselves to, with the repeated barrage of songs. It’s just abusive.” And that song about radio by Portland bubblegum rockers, Everclear: “It’s like, he’s kind of rapping,” Goldman says incredulously. “People point their finger and say, ‘Hey, that dude is rapping. That is wrong.’ He should not be rapping.” But fortunately for him, Goldman doesn’t have to cope with all of the industry’s corporate crap. Instead, he’s content with the indie rock fame and fortune thebrotheregg has achieved. Their first album, Snowflake and Fingerprint Machine was released in 2001 by UK-based Woronzow records after Goldman sent a demo to one of his idols, and head of the label, Nick Saloman of the Bevis Frond. Snowflake, subsequently released by Rubric in the U.S., made no small impression and earned a number of rave reviews. Most recently though, thebrotheregg has been more low-key, touring with and releasing a split EP with Montana band The 1090 Club — a natural progression since 1090 vocalist/guitarist Sean Lynch was once a member of the(everchanging)brotheregg.
Their connections, both personal and musical, make thebrotheregg and The 1090 Club perfect co-headliners. The Club is comprised of five members nabbed from other bands, what vocalist/bassist Tony Killebrew calls an “all-star band.” With an array of instruments, including violin and piano, and influences ranging from The Misfits to Jeff Buckley to Broadway Musicals, they have a rich and interesting sound. Like thebrotheregg, they dabble in an amalgamation of pop and rock, but with a fun-loving “woo-hoo” thrown in here and there for good measure. Judging by their new split EP, both bands have a common goal. Consciously or not, they create songs that are “tools for reaching glory,” as Goldman is quoted as saying in a Scottish music magazine. Of course, we could spend time wondering about the accuracy of said quote, but given his tendency to throw out stunningly witty statements at random, it’s probably true. After all, this is the guy who, when asked which famous person he’d like to spend a day with, responded, “You’re causing me to think about proper nouns. I’m not good with proper nouns.”
http://www.thelocalplanet.com/Current_Issue/Culture/Article.asp?ArticleID=3318
Article appears in current issue of lowfidelity.com(Scotland):
thebrotheregg are not your normal band. One listen to the booze-country stagger of mp3 Billy Barty's Brains will tell you that. These lads are streets ahead of 99% of the internet music plodders that clog up the ether. Plus they’re mental.
Describing themselves as “an experiment in noise, sound, personality, moods and emotions”, thebrotheregg formed eleven months ago in Portland, and consists of Adam (vocals and guitars), Keith (stand-up bass and vocals), Tofur (percussion) and Slynch (keyboards and vocals).
Bassist Keith has a simple philosophy to songwriting: “I hear things in my head but don’t hear them on my record player, so that’s what we need to make.” Adam has a more unconventional approach. He describes songs as “tools for reaching glory” and says, “if you write a really good song it calibrates to your personal biorhythm. It’s allowing you to be optimal.” Right.
Adam tries to further explain thebrotheregg’s approach to music with a Mr T anecdote. Like you do. “I grew up in the area where Mr T lived and had the fortune of seeing him on two occasions,” he says enthusiastically. “Naturally, on both occasions I yelled ‘Mr T!’ and both times he responded by raising a fist in a power-to-the-people manner. These I consider to be mystical events, the calibre of which I strive for in attempting to play music.” Fair enough.
Describing their live show as “all psychedelic dinner theatre” (no really), the band are keen to tour Europe, but haven’t got a scooby how to go about it. They also have plenty more tunes recorded. “We have a full-length bun in the oven,” says Adam, “and we’re looking for someone to put it out.” So if you’re a twat A&R bloke reading this, get on the blower to them now, but only if you want a creative, original and potentially huge band on your hands, that is.
We’ll leave the last word to the enigmatic Adam, as he describes the band’s philosophy. “Our band, as it exists in the mind or outside of time, remains faithful to its original manifesto of purity and creation. We also believe that it is important to be reasonably if not fully hydrated at all times…”
The Brother Egg
thebrotheregg (second edition limited ep #476/500)
(self-released)
"computers make me wet between the legs, because I was attacked by a gizmo once". Most bands release full-length album after full-length trying to achieve what Portland's thebrotheregg can conquer in just one song: attention grabbing depth. With just 3 songs at just over 10 minutes, thebrotheregg rock in a "most Califone / sin ropas" kinda way. All 3 of the songs here have recently resurfaced on the new full-length 'Snowflake and Fingerprint Machine' available on Rubric Records. Music band-described on thebrotheregg website as "having a moodiness to it, and a psychoactive groove", this is by far texture that modern music is deprived of. God bless thebrotheregg.
Track Listing :: 1/billy barty's brains 2/dark workmanship 3/dormant podling
http://www.sctas.com/cds.html
thebrotheregg
Old review from "Aiding and Abetting"
http://www.aidabet.com/
Billy Barty's Brains CD5
(self-released)
reviewed in issue #196, 3/6/00
The guys call their stuff "futuristic" pop, I guess because of the fuzzy shimmer and fairly obsessive production sound. I'll have to make do with "pretty damned good."
Three tunes, all of which display a rather full and lush sound. Sometimes it's accomplished with just the regular band, and at times some friends come in on strings and such.
There are the requisite "wig out" moments, particularly on the intros and fade outs. The Brother Egg knows what it's doing. It does this well. Exceedingly so.