EP Review: Brainflakes – Someone, Somewhere

Brendon Crave cut his teeth in the Rockford, IL DIY scene, now after years of playing in various bands he has shifted to Salt Lake City and has re-emerged under the moniker of Brainflakes and is now set to release his debut solo EP “Someone, Somewhere“. The opening track “Royale” hits you with savage chords which are overlaid with raw vocals, the track constantly ebbs and flows, from raw punk rock to a gentle pop punkesque interlude, and everything in-between, before kicking back into gear and suddenly ending without warning. From the outset it’s clear that this is the unfiltered creative process of Brainflakes, the idiosyncratic blurring of boundaries and styles continues with “Clay’s Achin’“, which keeps the same unpredictable elements but brings an element of technical math rock into the mix, and “Cracked Yer Head” and the epic “Leaving The Shire“

Brainflakes debut release is a short, yet concise collection of four emo fuelled punk tracks, each track on the “Someone, Somewhere” EP is vulnerable, unpredictable and intelligent with trademark switches between between the EP’s quieter more introspective moments and the angst-filled punk rock that dominates that EP. It’s always a temptation on an unfiltered solo release to just throw everything they’ve got at the wall and see what sticks, this approach has been employed on the “Someone, Somewhere” EP. The constant changing of styles, something that is particularly evident on the EP’s closing track “Leaving The Shire“, means that it’s hard to actually get a handle on exactly where Brainflakes are heading, and I suspect that Brendon Crave is probably unsure of his heading, but it’s an original and creative release that indicates that his journey will be an interesting one.

“Someone, Somewhere” will be released on November 1st and the EP can be pre-ordered via Bandcamp here.