Friday, September 14, 2007

CD Review: Little Brian’s Thrash Funk

By Justin Smith

When I opened the cover for the debut album Thrash Funk, by Little Brian, and began to read the liner notes, I thought these guys are either insane or they must have massive cajones. The liner notes open with “From the ashes of what became left of life, there pushed forth, in a writhing dispute with the evils of the universe, men from all ends of existence.” The story and the album create a mythology in which the listener can either choose to inhabit or can just throw away, laughing at the bravado that Little Brian must have in order to put something out like this, especially in a first album. One thing is certain about this album, however, you cannot ignore it.

The music on Thrash Funk is difficult to describe. It's a grand mixture of Parliament Funkadelic, Slayer, jazz fusion, and even some prog-rock thrown in for good measure. The band is a nine-piece instrumental ensemble consisting of two guitars, bass, drums, various other percussion instruments, keyboards, trumpet, tenor sax, trombone, and baritone sax. Like a good French chef, mixing the strangest of ingredients, this album creates a concoction all its own; a singular, unique voice.

Three of the tracks are traditional funk. The opening track, “Slow Greasy,” is a slow and fat song, that sounds straight out of a Melvin Van Peebles film. The track “Ondarf” is a quicker funk song with accentuated upbeats by the guitars and includes handclaps, shakers, and a bass solo. I was dancing in my seat as my coworkers laughed at me while listening to it. The final track, “Party,” is my favorite song on the CD. I sincerely wished this song would have gone on for thirty minutes. I thought I was listening to a revivified Bootsy Collins on bass, but alas, it was Sam Damask, the bandleader and the man who wrote, arranged, and produced the record.

The rest of the album is equally as stunning, peppered more heavily with metal and the occasional extended chords and cadences. You can smell the UNT jazz scene influence in there. “Car chase” is an all out assault on your ears with fast, heavy metal riffs and hugely orchestrated chords that are so thick they'll make you slap yo momma. “Slaughtered Seals” opens with a Ventures-like guitar riff before moving all over the map. It stays glued together, however, via the masterful Butch Smith on drums. In fact, were it not for the consistent pulse generated by Smith, this album might have a tendency to come apart. But with everything going on, including the percussion, Smith provides us with a stable pulsating dance beat. That's right, metal with a dance beat that is so consistent throughout the album, you get lulled into a trance-like body motion that is rather difficult to control.

Thrash Funk is a stellar debut album by a local band from Denton, which unfortunately is in the process of relocating to Austin. Well, they better keep driving up here to play, because I am hooked. This is the best new album I have heard all year.

Read about animal sacrifices, Swedish metal, and the constant struggle of good versus evil in the interview with Little Brian.

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• Arts > Popular Music > Experimental / Avante-Garde
• Arts > Popular Music > Rock