Brainbombs
1986-2013*
Review by Joey
Genre/s: Noise Rock, Garage Rock, Psych, Industrial, Noise
For Fans Of: The Stooges, Drunks With Guns, Rusted Shut, Strangulated Beatoffs
So, Brayden already did a review for the previous Brainbombs discography post, but I'm going to do another one. Where do I even start with this band? They've been around since 1985 and have released a slow, but steady stream of music since then, along with continuing to play live. In that time, they've managed to be consistent, churning out incredible yet stupid riff after incredible yet stupid riff (but only one per song), and memorable, yet highly problematic lyrics -- the problematic element is definitely what makes them so memorable.
I'm not going to even try to justify their lyrics depicting all sorts of horrific acts, most of which deal with torture, rape, murder, and other terrible things. I could say that Brainbombs' music is intended to express desensitization and work as a commentary and expression of detachment through the use of monotonous, hypnotic repetition and lyrical obscenity; but at the end of the day, regardless of their intentions, you're listening to a band with sick riffs and a guy casually talking in a heavy Swedish accent about murdering someone after they've given him a blowjob. It absolutely contributes to a culture of violence against women by seemingly making light of it, so it's understandable that many people wouldn't want to listen to this.
But most of you don't care about that. What you do care about is stupid riffs played over and over for 6 minutes and going nowhere, sloppy songs that fall apart, apathetic and nihilistic vocals, and of course the fucking trumpet. Basically, if you ever wanted to hear a Swedish version of The Stooges who wanted to emulate Whitehouse, Brainbombs is the perfect band for you. Despite the fact that they've been a band for 30 years at this point, they have lost none of their edge (in both senses) and are still as filthy, disguising, and heavy as ever -- something which unfortunately can't be said for The Stooges.
Okay, so what do I mean by (almost complete) studio discography? It means that I'm not including live recordings, bootlegs, compilations they've been featured on, or collections; all of the EPs are here as they were originally released, except for the 1992 Burning Hell 7" which has an alternate mix of Burning Hell not featured on any other releases (not the live version that I've seen passed off as it). If anyone has that, please let me know, I'm dying to hear it and I'd love to add it to this post.
You probably just skipped all of that to get here, so here's what you get:
- Jack the Ripper Lover (1989)
- Anne Frank (1990)
- Burning Hell (1992)
- Genius And Brutality – Taste And Power (1994)
- Brainbombs / Anal Babes split (1995)
- Obey (1995)
- Macht (1998)
- Urge To Kill (1999)
- Cheap (2001)
- Stigma Of The Ripper (2003)
- The Grinder (2004)
- I Need Speed (2006)
- Stinking Memory (2007)
- Fucking Mess (2008)
- Disposal Of A Dead Body (2013)
If you honestly think this material promotes 'violence against women' then you're guilty of perpetrating that sort of thing by giving us this music right? How could you possibly justify this?
ReplyDeletenobody gives a shit about women,gays or whatever,especially brainbombs. the intent is to shock,so guess what? they dont care.
DeleteI never said this material promotes violence against women, but that it trivializes it (two completely different things, although both part of the same problem). I don't see why people draw the line at bands like this, but not say Black Flag or Descendents who are probably more guilty of actually promoting misogynist values considering they casually talk about their misogynist attitudes in a normative way. I also believe people are capable of enjoying problematic things without adopting the views they espouse, especially things like the material presented here, which is so over the top I find it hard to believe anyone would listen to it and suddenly think "you know what, I hate women and want to murder children." It's easy to enjoy something and also remain critical of it. Pretty wild, huh?
DeleteAs for #2, I'd give you a 0/10 troll, especially considering half of Brainbombs also plays in Totalitar, a politically charged punk band.
totalitar eh? punk points gained for the connections dude,but again...they don't care. it's like a painting of something horrible,you may like it or not,but they did it for the sole purpose to do it and show it. Who fucking cares
DeleteThanks for being a sarcastic dick at the end. You said that it "contributes to a culture of violence against women". I don't see how you could think this and enjoy this material without being disingenuous. Do you just cough loudly every time the vocalist mentions hitting a prostitute or cumming in a female corpse? Obviously the lyrics are horrifying but they contribute towards nothing and if they did I'd wonder why you weren't speaking out against the songs where the vocalist literally tells the listener to murder people. "you have the right to make them croak". This is bullshit.
ReplyDeleteI'm honestly not sure what you're trying to say, are you trying to say this is problematic and therefore people shouldn't listen to it; or that it isn't problematic and people shouldn't care? Regardless, the words "promote" and "contribute" are not synonymous, and yes, the lyrics do contribute to a culture of violence against women in that they are a trivialization of the fact that women are statistically more likely to be violently assaulted. Whether or not it's intended to be satire doesn't really make a difference when it's not obvious that it's satire. That being said, again, it's not that difficult to enjoy something and recognize its message is shitty.
DeleteI love the brainbombs and I agree that some of their lyrics are awful. I disagree the art is an influencing factor in things like violence against women or any societal issue. Also I'm not an MRA but men are much more likely to be assaulted without provocation while women are more likely to be sexually assaulted but that's not what were here to argue. My only scruple with your review is the implication in it that art of any kind somehow normalizes/promotes/justifies/contributes to poor behavior in society.
DeleteIf you repeatedly hear people in the media talk about and portray certain groups as being inferior and inherently different, you're going to think that's true. Structures like gender/race/et al are socially constructed and reinforced by various media.
DeleteI think the reason that something like brainbombs exists is to raise these kinds of questions. ..so many people like art, music, etc because they like the aesthetic. Brainbombs belongs in the same category as over the top horror movies. ..in that the listener is forced to decide whether they still like the dumb dark angry punk aesthetic when it's actually fueled by genuinely dark content. Do you like being shocked or frightened by art, or deeply and genuinely disturbed? I listened to brainbombs exactly once and never will again. But I do not wish that it didn't exist. Maybe it is just mindless provocation, but so is 95% of punk, just on the opposite end of the political spectrum. I think the guys who run this blog did a good job of framing this music as something that has artistic merit based on the fact that it's so over the top that it really dares even the most adventurous listener to enjoy, or just endure, the listening experience. Yes, the lyrics are the shittiest most unfunny thing in all of punk, but people who are transposing those ideas onto this site for hosting this music are misguided.
ReplyDeleteDon't like it, don't listen to it.
ReplyDelete"It absolutely contributes to a culture of violence against women by seemingly making light of it, so it's understandable that many people wouldn't want to listen to this."
ReplyDeleteThat was... unnecessary. Not for anything else but because it is - from an artistic point of view - simply not accurate.
What was problematic was that even if that statement was true, you implied most people who'll download this wouldn't care about that (as mentioned in the next sentence)...
Whoa, I didn't even see all these comments. I'm not sure if it's problematic to point out that people don't care, but there was probably a much better way to say it. How is it inaccurate to say this music makes light of violence against women?
DeleteIf one writes a lyric about how a misogynist might think, does that make the writer a misogynist, or his work misogynistic? That was my point...
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wasn't punk about shock and extremism? or a bunch of smelly politically hippies ? or maybe a mix of two? grow up people. GROW UP
ReplyDelete*politically-driven hippies
DeleteWow, I didn't realize that mainstream misogyny is shocking.
DeleteThe first anonymous is probably some hyper sensitive ultra politically correct wiener who has to have some cause of the week to feel validated. That guy sucks. Just sayin. Its punk rock people. Plain and simple. Don't know a lot about this group but id bet they could give a shit about this post or if any of us are listening. That being said. Im downloading it now. If its got wienerman up there all riled up then its probably worth a listen.
ReplyDeleteI guess I have to reiterate that half of Brainbombs also played in Totalitar, who were an extremely political band.
DeleteGeez, people sure get worked up by anything subversive... keep aurally fuckin the world, some of us are hands down pleased at what you are doing.
ReplyDeleteit got you people talking
ReplyDeleteLa mejor banda de la historia
ReplyDelete