Brainkiller: Colourless Green Superheroes

Rating: ★★★

Record and Artist Details

Musicians:

Coppe (electronics)
Hernan Hecht (d)
Jacob Koller (p, kys)
Brian Allen (tb)

Label:

RareNoise Records

September/2013

Catalogue Number:

RNR033

RecordDate:

date not stated

Colourless Green Superheroes follows faithfully in the footsteps of Brainkiller’s Rare Noise debut, The Infiltrator. Detailed, even joyous themes and grooves are pitched against free freak-outs, although even these have a smile at their edge, as though the trio can’t quite take this atonality seriously. It’s summed up by the splendidly daft but eminently listenable ‘Top Of The World’ that moves swiftly to a whistle-in-the-shower style trombone theme before erupting into an epic climax as though Radiohead had morphed into The Bad Plus. Humour’s never far away, as on the byplay and treated piano of ‘A Piedi Verso II Sole’. But nothing stays the same for long in Brainkiller world as this track too twists into a dark melancholia, all ominous Rhodes and echoing ’bone. As with The Infiltrator, there’s a splendid brevity about the pieces (only two creep above four minutes in length), which leaves you gagging for more. And although the presence of Japanese star Coppe on ‘Empty Words’ eases the band into a world of electronica, others of a certain generation will be reminded of Robert Wyatt, notably in his Matching Mole days.

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