kenny brainstorm - kenny b

Kenny Brainstorm 

Kenny B
self-released; 2013

3.7 out of 5

By Dan Alcantara

Kenyan Brainstorm is a duo that doesn't get to work together very often. The members live in Birmingham and London, two places that are not close, and they recorded their debut, Kenny B over the course of several years. 

The EP begins with "VHS I Confess,” a song that doesn't so much of a meaning or message as it has a means of delivering a delightful little earworm that I kept playing over and over again. There's something about how it morphs from what you would expect it to be - a moody, atmospheric song - into something that's incredibly poppy and upbeat. "Fielding" is a more sprawling song, which features a guitar and piano melody that repeats for the entire song. If I wanted to be cruel, I'd say this 7:51 minute song was about ... seven minutes too long. There isn't really a whole lot that happens in it.

"Back Stop" is a heavily distorted song, the vocals were made by taking an ancient microphone and plugging it directly into a tape machine. The rhythm and what little melody that exists are courtesy of percussive bass tones and drums that sound like they were recorded in a warehouse. Listening, you get the feeling that much of the music was created as a bit of a laugh or while the pair were under the influence of alcohol; especially on the EP's closing track, "Fax For The Umpire Has Arrived.” They laugh and sound like they're just having a lot of fun. The track is made up mostly of screams, beatbox and a German language lesson played in reverse.

When a project is weird in all of the right ways, we call it creativity, for example, the movie “Primer.” I finally got around to watching it last night and listening to this EP leaves me feeling about the same way the movie did. The other feeling I get is that of viewing Noel Fielding's “Luxury Comedy.” The music is surreal, almost to the point of no longer being musical. Yet there's something in it that keeps you listening and trying to figure out what just happened to your brain.

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