Glowing Brain - Memory Distortion

Oakland, California's Glowing Brain are Conrad Nichols – Vocals/Bass/Guitar, Doc Miller – Guitar/Vocals/Synthesizer/Organ and James Lyter - Drums/Percussion. Memory Distortionfollows 2021's Brain Dust full-length debut as well as 2018's S/T EP. The majority of the trio's work is out on Kansas City, Missouri The Ghost Is Clear Records home to great releases by No Lights, Knub and Basement Family. Not to mention their collaborations with Learning Curve Records as well as on this occasion Master Kontrol Audio for the cassette version of the record.

The font in the band's name should clue you into the fact that these lads LOVE Motörhead and coincidentally are a trio too. Furthermore if you are a fan of Lemmy and co then I'd also recommend any number of artists from Motorpunk Records. Anyhow on with the review...

'Long Hair Punks' very title demonstrates this is a band who do not give a flying toss when it comes to musical boundaries, hence their crossover appeal to Punks and Metalheads. Soundwise however this number very much exists in the Noise-Rock sphere with nods to Unsane as well as Mclusky's fantastic recent release the world is still here and so are we. An opener packed with thick Sludge laden grooves which open the record in an appropriately brutal fashion. 'Revenge Pinata' is injected with both a Punk spirit as well as an awesome Rock 'n' Roll malevolence common with the aforementioned Motörhead. Its stripped back, no-nonsense approach also recalls The Damned's Damned Damned Damned for how damn fun it is. 'Crude Bastard' is possibly the most Motorheadish song title you could get, also, remember when Suicidal Tendencies put out 'Possessed to Skate' in 1987? Well this track has a similar vibe, fast, furious and subsequently ideal for ollies, 180 and any number of skating tricks I'm clueless about. This should certainly feature in the next Tony Hawk Pro Skater game.

'Bong Exhaust' slows the pace significantly with some fantastic Stoner/Space-Rock in the vein of Monster Magnet, UFOmammut and Fu Manchu while 'Memory Distortion' picks the pace back up again with some seriously face melting riffage and a shit ton of attitude. Boy this is absolutely amazing. 'Hole in the Skull' has an incredible bass riff ala 'Overkill' with some moments reminiscent of Metallica covering Diamond Head. There's even a little tinge of Prong's Primitive Origins & Force Fed era. Pretty tasty. 'Creeping Debt' is probably the darkest sounding number on the album with traces of Black 'n' Roll present, think Darkthrone, Satyricon etc. This helps give the album a darker texture as well as demonstrating Glowing Brain's willingness to experiment, superb.

'Bummer Machine' continues the band's high octane Hot Snakes Post-Hardcore/Garage-Punk, but there's also a little latter period Black Flag present, think albums like In My Head and tracks such as 'Drinking and Driving'. If the likes of Wolfbrigade get a regular rotation in your household then Dying on the Vine', a blink and you'll miss it D-Beat monster will appeal to you fo' sure. 'Chilling Technology' is the album's longest track at nearly six minutes, like a twisted version of Voivod (the name's a take on Killing Technology' after all). Carnivore's S/T debut also came to mind what with Louie Beato's powerful Drumming on 'World Wars III & IV', there's also an apocalyptic Killing Joke Post-Punk undercurrent too. All of this affords for a truly extraordinary conclusion.

For all the speed and raw aggression prevalent throughout Memory Distortion, there's still some sonic surprises to be had along the way demonstrating that Glowing Brain is far from a one-trick pony. Exceptional.