Local Review: Beard of Solitude – Broken Brain EP

Beard of Solitude
Broken Brain EP, Beardo II EP, Fun in the Afternoon single

Croakfrog Records
Beard of Solitude = your mother’s record collection , the crappy, cheesy stuff

Y’know, I don’t even know if I was supposed to review this, but hey, it’ll be fun. It’s a whole buncha Beard stuff on one CD for my convenience, and I’m beginning to realize that bands whose initials backwards are S.O.B. have the edge on charm. Hard to believe some of these guys were in The Cronies, but even the toughest bitches have a tender side? Acoustic-driven pop-rock oddly recalling Mission of Burma and other late-80s art-alt bands come out in the Broken Brain EP (2003), with some John Denver overtones. The last song is the best. It sounds like Thin Lizzy moistening up Sonic Youth. The Beardo II EP picks up where Broken Brain left off, going in more of the classic-glam-rock direction but with the art-punk providing the backbone. A Magnetic Fields feel combining with Hendrix’ “Waterfall” comes through in track 12 (sorry, no song titles). Things get spastic in track 14. Fun in the Afternoon is much more experimental and has some Tom Petty “Free Falling”-sounding drum beats in track 19 and 20. Overall, the Beard is sloppy and careful, raw and refined, all at the same time. If you don’t understand that, then you don’t understand anything.