| Braindrops | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 23 August 2019 | |||
| Recorded | 2018–2019 | |||
| Studio | Dodgy Bros Studios (Nagambie, Victoria) | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 48:11 | |||
| Label | ||||
| Producer |
| |||
| Tropical Fuck Storm chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Singles from Braindrops | ||||
| ||||
Braindrops is the second studio album by Australian supergroup Tropical Fuck Storm. It was released on 23 August 2019 through Flightless Records in Australia and Joyful Noise Recordings worldwide. [6] [7]
Following the release of their debut A Laughing Death in Meatspace in May 2018, the band would go on to play a series of national and international dates in varying capacities, [8] including a few dates opening for Modest Mouse (on their fall tour in October 2018) [9] and King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard (as a part of their Gizzfest event). [10]
On 23 August 2018, the band premiered the song "The Happiest Guy Around", which ended up being one half of a split single with Liars (who contributed the track "Total 3 Part Saga") as the 18th instalment of the LAMC (Less Artists More Condos) series of 7-inch singles curated by Famous Class Records; where "an established musician on the A-side" is paired "with one of the musician’s favorite new artists on the B-side". [11] [12] The 7-inch was released on 28 September. [12]
On 21 January 2019, King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard posted an image of them jamming with Liddiard in the foreground flipping the bird on their official Instagram account. [13] This led some to speculate Liddiard's involvement with the band's new material "either as a guest or producer." [13] [10] On 4 March, Flightless announced that Tropical Fuck Storm had signed with them in Australia and New Zealand, [14] [15] [16] and on the same day, the band premiered "The Planet of Straw Men" with video, which would be the first single from their second album Braindrops, set to be released "mid-2019" through Joyful Noise Records worldwide and Flightless in Australia and New Zealand. [17] [15] [16]
On 17 June 2019, the band released the second single from their upcoming album, "Paradise"; the name of the album was also revealed to be Braindrops the same day, and its release date of 23 August was announced. [18] [19] [20]
Aside from the aforementioned singles, Joyful Noise released limited edition vinyl through their mail order website, and distributed hot magenta coloured vinyl and CD versions of the album. [21]
Four singles have been released from the album: "The Planet of Straw Men", [7] "Paradise", [22] "Who's My Eugene?" [23] and "Braindrops". [24] Music videos for the tracks "The Planet of Straw Men", [25] "Braindrops", [24] "Who's My Eugene?" [26] and "The Happiest Guy Around" [27] have also been released. A different mix of the track "The Happiest Guy Around" had also previously appeared as the B-side to a split single with Liars in August 2018, as a part of the LAMC series of singles curated by Famous Class Records. [11] [12]
Joe Becker, who had previously created the cover art for their debut album, was also credited with the cover art for Braindrops. [28]
| Aggregate scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AnyDecentMusic? | 7.7/10 [29] |
| Metacritic | 77/100 [30] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |    [31] |
| DIY | [32] |
| Dork | [1] |
| Exclaim! | 8/10 [2] |
| The Line of Best Fit | 8/10 [33] |
| The Music | [34] |
| Paste | 8.2/10 [3] |
| Sputnikmusic | [35] |
| Tom Hull | B+(  ) [36] |
| Uncut | 8/10 [37] |
The album currently holds a Metacritic score of 77 based on 10 reviews and an AnyDecentMusic? score of 7.7 based on 13 reviews. [30] [29]
Treble magazine, in a review published on 12 August 2019, named Braindrops their "Album of the Week" praising the track "Paradise" as "a sickly mirage of an oasis—you can practically see the disspiating heat haze over Liddiard's trickling guitar riffs. It slowly escalates its way toward a furious climax, turning into one of the most explosive break-up songs in recent memory". The review concludes: "Tropical Fuck Storm invite the chaos, orchestrating it, manipulating it, delivering a piece of mangled and bruised art that sounds magnificent at its most frayed and fragmented. It's a weirdness that feels strangely assuring, even necessary." [38] NARC Magazine gave the album a perfect score, writing that it "pretty much cements the Australians as one of the most vital acts on the planet right now." [39] Exclaim! called it "a psychedelic rock opera occasionally dipping its toes in the stream of electro-punk. The result is equal parts harrowing and electrifying, surreal and far too familiar." [2] According to Paste , "[l]istening to Braindrops feels like watching a sped-up timeline of rising sea levels and melting glaciers set to long-lost field recordings of maximalist noise-rock from the Outback. You're listening to a world falling apart." [3] Braindrops, writes The Line of Best Fit , "is as cerebral and gut-level as its name implies, high-minded and high volume, a grand mess that isn't really a mess at all." [33]
In an interview with Konbini, Iggy Pop praised the title track of the album, simply calling it "a good fuck". [40] [41] Both Michael Feuerstack and Conan Neutron called it one of their favourite albums of the year, with the latter calling it "an utterly befuddling and "wrong" sounding record that is oh so "right." There isn't a clear monster single like "tyres" on this one, but the whole thing has a snakey, baked in the sun vibe that works its way into your subconscious." [42] [43]
The album has been nominated for the Australian Music Prize of 2019. [44]
| Publication | Country | Accolade | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Double J | Australia | The 50 best albums of 2019 | 38 [45] |
| The Sydney Morning Herald (Craig Mathieson) | Australia | The best 10 albums of 2019 (and a few that came close) | - [46] |
| Junkee | Australia | The 15 Best Albums Of 2019 | - [47] |
| Slate | US | The Best Albums of 2019 | - [48] |
| Brooklyn Vegan | US | Bill's Indie Basement: Best of 2019 | 39 [49] |
| City Pages | US | The 75 best albums of 2019 | 53 [50] |
| Loud and Quiet | UK | The Loud And Quiet best 40 albums of 2019 | 12 [51] |
| OOR | Netherlands | The 40 Best Albums of The Year 2019 | 42 [52] |
| Mondo Sonoro | Spain | The best international albums of 2019 | 27 [53] |
| Rockdelux | Spain | Best international albums of 2019 | 48[ citation needed ] |
| Magic | France | The100 best albums of the year 2019 | 84 [54] |
All tracks are written by Tropical Fuck Storm
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Paradise" | 6:14 |
| 2. | "The Planet of Straw Men" | 4:52 |
| 3. | "Who's My Eugene?" | 4:41 |
| 4. | "The Happiest Guy Around" | 4:28 |
| 5. | "Maria 62" | 3:56 |
| 6. | "Braindrops" | 6:42 |
| 7. | "Aspirin" | 5:14 |
| 8. | "Desert Sands of Venus" | 4:14 |
| 9. | "Maria 63" | 7:50 |
| Total length: | 48:11 | |
| Chart (2019) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian Albums (ARIA) [55] | 10 |
| Australian Independent Albums (AIR) [56] | 2 |
| US Heatseekers Albums (Billboard) [57] | 3 |
| US Independent Albums (Billboard) [58] | 18 |
| US Top Album Sales (Billboard) [59] | 93 |
The Drones were an Australian rock band, formed in Perth by mainstay lead vocalist and guitarist Gareth Liddiard in 1997. Fiona Kitschin, his domestic partner, joined on bass guitar and vocals in 2002. Other long-term members include Rui Pereira on bass guitar and then lead guitar; Mike Noga on drums, vocals, harmonica and percussion; and Dan Luscombe on lead guitar, vocals and keyboards. Their second album, Wait Long by the River and the Bodies of Your Enemies Will Float By, won the inaugural Australian Music Prize. In October 2010 their third studio album, Gala Mill was listed at No. 21 in the book, 100 Best Australian Albums. Two of their albums have reached the top 20 on the ARIA Albums Chart, I See Seaweed and Feelin Kinda Free. The group went on hiatus in December 2016 with Kitschin and Liddiard forming a new group, Tropical Fuck Storm, in the following year.
Gala Mill is the fourth studio album by Australian band the Drones, which was released in September 2006. Recorded in an abandoned mill in Tasmania, it was their last album to feature founding member Rui Pereira and the first to feature Mike Noga on drums. The music, which makes "an epic leap beyond garage rock", adds influences from folk rock and contemporary folk music to their usual punk blues style. Gareth Liddiard's lyrics for the album are centered more on Australia's colonial and recent history, evident in tracks such as "Jezebel", "Words From The Executioner To Alexander Pearce" and "Sixteen Straws".
Wait Long by the River and the Bodies of Your Enemies Will Float By is the second album released by the Drones. Recorded "100% live", the album draws influence from the likes of Neil Young and Rowland S. Howard, though it has been described by lead singer/guitarist Gareth Liddiard himself as a punk rock album. The lyrics, penned by Liddiard deal with issues such as death, depression and alcoholism in its depiction of Australian working class life.
Gareth Liddiard is an Australian musician, best known as a founding member of both The Drones and Tropical Fuck Storm. Musically active since 1997, he has also released a solo album titled Strange Tourist in 2010. In 2021, Liddiard recorded and performed live with Jim White of the Dirty Three and Chris Abrahams of The Necks as Springtime.
Here Come the Lies is the debut album released by Perth band The Drones.
I See Seaweed is the fifth studio album by Australian band The Drones, released in March 2013. The album marked the first appearance of Steve Hesketh on keyboards and the last appearance of drummer Mike Noga. Recorded by the band themselves inside a "demountable classroom from the '60s", the music on the album is more dynamic, darker and "expansive" in comparison to previous albums, while Liddiard's poetic lyrics were regarded as being more "universal" and humorous in exploring topics such as climate change, free will, conservative politics, socioeconomic issues, existentialism and the human condition in general. The song "How to See Through Fog" was released as the album's only single in early 2013.
King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard are an Australian rock band formed in 2010 in Melbourne, Victoria. The band's current lineup consists of Stu Mackenzie, Ambrose Kenny-Smith, Cook Craig, Joey Walker, Lucas Harwood, and Michael Cavanagh. They are known for exploring multiple genres, staging energetic live shows, and building a prolific discography.
I'm in Your Mind Fuzz is the fifth studio album by Australian psychedelic rock band King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard. It was released on 31 October 2014 on Flightless Records in Australia, just over a week later on 11 November in the United States on Castle Face Records, and on 1 December that same year on Heavenly Records worldwide. At the J Awards of 2014, the album was nominated for Australian Album of the Year. I'm in Your Mind Fuzz was the band's first album to chart on the ARIA charts, peaking at number 85.
Polygondwanaland is the twelfth studio album by Australian psychedelic rock band King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard. The album was released under an open source licence—the band uploaded the master tapes online for anyone to freely use. The fourth of five albums released by the band in 2017, it was released on 17 November 2017.
Feelin Kinda Free is the sixth studio album from Australian band The Drones, and their final one before going on hiatus. Having grown tired with the more rock-oriented sound of the band up until that point, frontman Gareth Liddiard became fascinated with both vintage and modern electronic equipment - ranging from drum machines and samplers to the Teenage Engineering OP-1 synthesizer - in conceiving the album's sound. Its genre-defying musical style has been described as visceral and ominous, featuring a relative absence of guitars and a prominent use of electronic textures. Its sessions also marked the first appearance of drummer Christian Strybosch since 2005's Wait Long by the River and the Bodies of Your Enemies Will Float By.
Tropical Fuck Storm are an Australian rock band from Melbourne, Victoria, formed by Gareth Liddiard and Fiona Kitschin from The Drones. Lauren Hammel, from the band High Tension, plays drums, and Erica Dunn, from the bands Mod Con, Harmony, and Palm Springs, plays guitars, keyboards, and other instruments. Their sound is characterised by elements of art punk, noise rock and experimental rock.
A Laughing Death in Meatspace is the debut album of Melbourne-based supergroup Tropical Fuck Storm, formed by members of The Drones, Palm Springs and High Tension. The band, wishing to step away from the more rock-centric sound that The Drones were known for prior to their final pre-hiatus album Feelin Kinda Free, utilized a range of obscure digital guitar effects, synthesizers, drum machines, and DAW software such as ProTools to create the music. Finished less than eight months after their first few live performances, the speed at which the album was recorded also had a heavy influence on its idiosyncratic sound, which combines genres such as punk blues, art punk, psychedelic rock and noise rock with influences from pop and electronic music. Written by Liddiard with contributions from other members, the lyrics have been described as apocalyptic and darkly humorous; tackling subjects such as technological advancement, political polarization, socioeconomic inequality, xenophobia, culture wars and many others. The album title links a Silicon Valley slang for the physical world with the neurodegenerative disorder of kuru found in the Fore people of Papua New Guinea.
Fishing for Fishies is the fourteenth studio album by Australian psychedelic rock band King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard. It was released on 26 April 2019 by Flightless and ATO Records. The announcement of the album was accompanied by the release of the title track and its video.
Strange Tourist is the debut studio album from The Drones and Tropical Fuck Storm frontman Gareth Liddiard. The album was recorded inside Blackburn Castle in New South Wales over the first half of 2010, and was produced with the help of Burke Reid. Its minimal, "austere" and "meandering" acoustic songs instrumentally consist entirely of Liddiard's guitar-playing, and are topped with his versatile and heavily-accented vocals. Exploring themes such as isolation, jealousy, guilt, colonialism, wartime collaborationism, radicalism and many others, its detailed, narrative-based lyrics have been characterized as "dark and grinding", and are set in various periods of time as well as locations.
Infest the Rats' Nest is the fifteenth studio album by Australian psychedelic rock band King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard. It was released on 16 August 2019 by the band's record label, Flightless, and ATO Records. The album sees the band using a heavy metal and thrash metal style, which they had only briefly touched upon on previous albums. Its lyrics address environmental themes such as climate change and ecological disaster through a cli-fi narrative involving space colonisation.
Flightless is an Australian independent record label, founded in Melbourne in 2012 by former King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard member Eric Moore. Originally founded to release both King Gizzard's music and that of associated acts such as The Murlocs, Flightless has since signed other Melbourne-based bands, including Tropical Fuck Storm, Stonefield and Amyl and the Sniffers.
Deep States is the third studio album by Australian group Tropical Fuck Storm. It was released on 20 August 2021 through Joyful Noise Recordings. Recorded during the COVID-19 pandemic, the recording process for the album was unconventional and involved heavy experimentation. The music features a range of diverse influences and has been variously labelled as art rock, noise rock and psychedelic rock. Lyrically, the album deals with the social and emotional impact of the pandemic, with many songs also diving into subjects such as conspiracy theories, social media polarization, corruption, death and occasionally even feature science fiction themes.
Omnium Gatherum is the 20th studio album and first double album by Australian psychedelic rock band King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard, released on 22 April 2022. The album was announced on 8 March 2022 and made available for pre-order on 22 March. It marked the first studio release where all band members are playing together live since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. As with previous releases, the album features music of numerous genres, including psychedelia, progressive rock, heavy metal and synth-pop, as well as the band's first experiments with hip hop. It received generally positive reviews, although critics were divided on its length and consistency.
Satanic Slumber Party is an EP by Australian-rock bands Tropical Fuck Storm and King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard, it was released on March 14, 2022, as a surprise release. The second track on the album, "Midnight in Sodom" had a music video released in promotion of the EP alongside the release of the record. It was directed by Nina Renee and Tropical Fuck Storm. The album was released digitally, and as a 7" EP. A limited edition 12" would be released titled "Hat Jam" that featured the EP and "The Dripping Tap". The cover art was made by Satomi Matsuzaki of the band Deerhoof. NME has described the EP as having influence from "Noise pop".
Springtime is the eponymous debut album from Australian supergroup Springtime, consisting of Gareth Liddiard, Chris Abrahams and Jim White. Recorded over 15 days at Liddiard's home studio in Nagambie, the largely-improvised album features lyrics from his uncle Ian Duhig, in addition to a Will Oldham cover and a reworking of a track by The Drones. It was released in Australia through TFS Records and in the US through Joyful Noise Recordings to largely positive reviews.
I was scared to see this band play, precisely because they are supposed to be so good. It never ends up being true. Fortunately, I also never end up being right. And for the record (pun intended), TFS's 2019 release Braindrops is as good as their first one, which is to say very great.
(Translated) There is nothing quite like the martian, arid and anarchic musical centrifuge of Tropical Fuck Storm, soundtrack to an era of general unhingedness. They deconstruct their influences - rock, post-punk, psychedelia, funk, hip-hop - and regurgitate them into distilled acid as expressionistic as the crazed cover illustration. [sic]