Brainstorm is this amazing jazz/prog rock band I stumbled upon through Spiegelei's catalogue. They are a four piece with Rainer Bodensohn on vocals/flute/bass, Roland Schaeffer on just about everything looks like, Joachim Koinzer on drums, and Eddy von Overheidt on Piano. It is one of the more intense, high energy prog albums I've heard, with Joachim Koinzer's excellent drum skills leading the way through.
1. Das Schwein Trügt
2. Zwick Zwick
3. Watch Time Flow By
4. Bosco Biati Weiß Alles
a) Bosco Biati
b) Weiß
c) Alles
| 5. Snakeskin Tango 6. Smile a While a) Intro b) Brainstorm c) These d) Antithese e) Morning Tune f) Smile a While 7. You Are What's Gonna Make it Last 8. Don't Forget |
The first two tracks start with a bang: incredibly dense, heavily percussive sections. The third track being a short flute intensive interlude, followed by "Bosco Biati Weiß Alles" which starts very sax intensive, a nice drum solo in the middle, and then in Part C these almost bossa nova style vocals that harmonize with the guitar.
I love the crazy vocals in Snakeskin Tango. Brainstorm can really cut loose on a tight, high concept level of instrumentation. The epic 15 minute title-track is perhaps the best example of this, where they rock out really hard. A well crafted epic showcasing the talents of a tight group with wide ranging skills.
The last song, You Are What's Gonna Make It Last is the shorter, more radio friendly song on the album. Even in the context of a quaint psych blues rock ditty, I think they really kick ass, complete with short-but-sweet guitar solo.
Not much else to say. Smile a While is brain candy for the Prog Rock enthusiast, with a diverse range of instrumentation and rhythmically complex ideas. Highly recommended. 9/10
