Rah Bras - Eps

Rah Bras sounds Southern Californese for “Right, Brother,” but the band’s music is a far cry from anything Jack Johnson, Donovan Frankenreiter or The Thrills ever produced. Imagine a super group composed of The Flaming Lips, Grace Slick and Frank Zappa & the Mothers. Now imagine these bands in a jam session higher than they’ve ever been before. Voila…EPS is created. EPS is a collection of three Rah Bras albums, but the songs interlock to form a cohesive whole. The chaotic structure of most tracks is primitive, avant-garde and methodical at the same time. No scientific timing was involved, but I don’t believe any track is longer than two minutes. Each succinct punch would be a perfect sound byte for a David Lynch film. While the vocals are mysterious but sparse, the instrumentals mature as Rah Bras progresses. The last few tracks are best associated with the acid techno genre. Side Note: I was blasting this album as I drove into Annapolis one very foggy night. The fog was so thick, I could barely see twenty yards ahead of me. I knew the State House was there, and I knew government office buildings were there, but the fog masked the entire landscape. It was as if I was driving into a black abyss that completely enveloped reality as I knew it. I can’t think of a more appropriate venue in which to listen to Rah Bras. [www.rahbras.com]