You might have already seen this trippy album cover in my review of Fake It, a preview track (with a meaty rock riff) from Out Of It, the newly hatched album by Brad Sucks. Now the other nine tracks are here and my employees at CTW Towers are flooding the mosh pit so I can throw the goat and indulge in a little crowd surfing.
Out Of It contains multi-tracked vocals, crunchy, fuzzy riffs, lots of geetar strumming and a plain ol' backbeat; it's indie rock/pop, plain and fairly simple, replete with quirky love songs and dissertations on life in general. To wit: Total Breakdown is the best upbeat rock song about living with a mentally unstable partner that I've ever heard; There's Something Wrong is a jolly campfire singalong that compares love to a brain disorder; and "I was laying on the floor when you were gone, like you were something I could die from" is the first line from the excellent Bad Sign, a song that deserves regular radio airplay.
One of the album's few weak points is Certain Death, a prime example of a good song ruined by a Led Zep/When The Levee Breaks-type snare drum and (thank you, rock cliché gods) too much cowbell. Fortunately, the hard rock of Understood By Your Dad is robust enough to stand up to Brad's drum kit (as are the lyrics). Although all of the songs are fun, I've just enough space to tip the hat to the title track's catchy brand of optimism and the Lennonesque You're Not Going Anywhere, a sacrificial plea from a friend/lover. Try inserting a Liverpudlian "well, well" at about the three minute mark of YNGA and you'll see what I mean. I hope.
As with Brad's previous album I Don't Know What I'm Doing, Out Of It is released under a Creative Commons licence: you can download the mp3s for free or pay whatever you think they're worth. A CD will cost you $10. Despite the credit crunch, I stumped up some cash for the mp3s - I like Brad's music, and this is the best way to guarantee that he keeps making it. He's also released the source files and acapellas for all ten tracks so you can remix them, you mad things.
I've now heard 22 of Brad's tracks and loved them all. If you're in need of a set of good, solid, reliable rock songs that hit the spot, download Out Of It, set your phaser to "singing in the shower" and enjoy. Better still, tell your friends and family. No need to thank me for the good music: I already know you're cool and vice versa.
Lastly, a small but vital point - I wouldn't have heard Brad's music if he hadn't released it with a Creative Commons licence and made it available for nothing. Now that he's seen some of my cash, I can reveal CTW's First Law of Free Music:
BS + CC = \m/
Brad Sucks - Out Of It (link to zipped album & individual files)
Just to avoid any doubt: "BS" stands for Brad Sucks...
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