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Braindrops
Studio album by
Tropical Fuck Storm
Released23 August 2019 (2019-08-23)
Recorded2018–2019
StudioDodgy Bros Studios (Nagambie, Victoria)
Genre
Length48:11
LabelFlightless, Joyful Noise
ProducerGareth Liddiard, Mike Deslandes
Tropical Fuck Storm chronology
A Laughing Death in Meatspace
(2018) 		Braindrops
(2019)
Singles from Braindrops
  1. "The Planet of Straw Men"
    Released: 4 March 2019
  2. "Paradise"
    Released: 17 June 2019
  3. "Who's My Eugene?"
    Released: 25 July 2019
  4. "Braindrops"
    Released: 19 August 2019

Braindrops is the second studio album by Australian supergroup Tropical Fuck Storm. It was released on 23 August 2019 through Flightless Records in Australia and Joyful Noise Records in the US.[7][8][9]

Background

Following the release of their debut A Laughing Death in Meatspace in May 2018, the band would go on to play a series of national and international dates in varying capacities,[10] including a few dates opening for Modest Mouse (on their fall tour in October 2018)[11] and King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard (as a part of their Gizzfest event).[12]

On the 23rd of August that year, the band premiered the song "The Happiest Guy Around", which ended up being one half of a split single with Liars (who contributed the track "Total 3 Part Saga") as the 18th instalment of the LAMC (Less Artists More Condos) series of 7-inch singles curated by Famous Class Records; where "an established musician on the A-side" is paired "with one of the musician’s favorite new artists on the B-side".[13][14] The 7-inch was released on the 28th of September.[14]

On the 21st of January the following year, King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard posted an image of them jamming with Liddiard in the foreground flipping the bird on their official Instagram account.[15] This led some to speculate Liddiard's involvement with the band's new material "either as a guest or producer."[15][12] On the 4th of March that year, the band's Flightless label announced that Tropical Fuck Storm had signed with them,[16][17][18] and the band premiered "The Planet Of Straw Men" - the first single from what they announced to be their second album, set to be released "mid-2019" - and its music video.[19][17][18]

Later, on the 17th of June, the band released the second single from their upcoming album, "Paradise"; the name of the album was also revealed to be Braindrops the same day, and its release date was announced.[20][21][22]

Release

Aside from the aforementioned singles, limited edition vinyl copies of the album itself have also been given away to those who pre-ordered the album from Joyful Noise Records.[23] The album was also leaked online in its entirety on 14 August 2019.[24]

Singles

Four singles have been released from the album: "The Planet Of Straw Men",[8] "Paradise",[25] "Who's My Eugene?"[26] and "Braindrops".[27] Music videos for the tracks "The Planet Of Straw Men",[28] "Braindrops",[27] "Who's My Eugene?"[29] and "The Happiest Guy Around"[30] have also been released. A different mix of the track "The Happiest Guy Around" had also previously appeared as the B-side to a split single with Liars in August 2018, as a part of the LAMC series of singles curated by Famous Class Records.[13][14]

Cover

Joe Becker, who had previously created the cover art for their debut album, was also credited with the cover art for Braindrops.[31]

Reception

Critical

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
AnyDecentMusic?7.7/10[32]
Metacritic77/100[33]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[4]
DIY[34]
Dork[1]
Exclaim!8/10[2]
The Line of Best Fit8/10[35]
The Music[36]
Paste8.2/10[3]
Sputnikmusic4.5/5[38]
Tom HullB+((1-star Honorable Mention))[39]
Uncut[37]

The album currently holds a Metacritic score of 77 based on 10 reviews and an AnyDecentMusic? score of 7.7 based on 13 reviews.[33][32]

Treble magazine, in a review published on 12 August 2019, named Braindrops their "Album of the Week" praising the track "Paradise" as "a sickly mirage of an oasis—you can practically see the disspiating heat haze over Liddiard's trickling guitar riffs. It slowly escalates its way toward a furious climax, turning into one of the most explosive break-up songs in recent memory". The review concludes: "Tropical Fuck Storm invite the chaos, orchestrating it, manipulating it, delivering a piece of mangled and bruised art that sounds magnificent at its most frayed and fragmented. It's a weirdness that feels strangely assuring, even necessary."[40] NARC Magazine gave the album a perfect score, writing that it "pretty much cements the Australians as one of the most vital acts on the planet right now."[41] Exclaim! called it "a psychedelic rock opera occasionally dipping its toes in the stream of electro-punk. The result is equal parts harrowing and electrifying, surreal and far too familiar."[2] According to Paste, "[l]istening to Braindrops feels like watching a sped-up timeline of rising sea levels and melting glaciers set to long-lost field recordings of maximalist noise-rock from the Outback. You're listening to a world falling apart."[3] Braindrops, writes The Line of Best Fit, "is as cerebral and gut-level as its name implies, high-minded and high volume, a grand mess that isn't really a mess at all."[35]

Contemporary

In an interview with Konbini, Iggy Pop praised the title track of the album, simply calling it "a good fuck".[42][43] Both Michael Feuerstack and Conan Neutron called it one of their favourite albums of the year, with the latter calling it "an utterly befuddling and “wrong” sounding record that is oh so “right.” There isn't a clear monster single like “tyres” on this one, but the whole thing has a snakey, baked in the sun vibe that works its way into your subconscious."[44][45]

Awards & Nominations

The album has been nominated for the Australian Music Prize of 2019.[46]

Accolades

Publication Country Accolade Rank
Slate US The Best Albums of 2019 -[47]
Loud and Quiet UK The Loud And Quiet best 40 albums of 2019 12[48]
Double J Australia The 50 best albums of 2019 38[49]
The Sydney Morning Herald (Craig Mathieson) Australia The best 10 albums of 2019 (and a few that came close) -[50]
Junkee Australia The 15 Best Albums Of 2019 -[51]
Brooklyn Vegan US Bill's Indie Basement: Best of 2019 39[52]
The Music Australia The Music 2019 Writers' Poll 10[53]
City Pages US The 75 best albums of 2019 53[54]
OOR Netherlands The 40 Best Albums of The Year 2019 42[55]
Mondo Sonoro Spain The best international albums of 2019 27[56]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Tropical Fuck Storm

No.TitleLength
1."Paradise"6:14
2."The Planet of Straw Men"4:52
3."Who's My Eugene?"4:41
4."The Happiest Guy Around"4:28
5."Maria 62"3:56
6."Braindrops"6:42
7."Aspirin"5:14
8."Desert Sands of Venus"4:14
9."Maria 63"7:50
Total length:48:11

Personnel

Adapted from liner notes.

  • "Gaz" (Gareth Liddiard) – performer, recording engineer, mixing engineer
  • "Fi Fi" (Fiona Kitschin) – performer
  • "RKO" (Erica Dunn) – performer
  • "Hammer" (Lauren Hammel) – performer

Additional credits

  • J.P. Shilo – violin (tracks: 5, 8, 9), guitar (tracks: 5, 8, 9), organ (tracks: 5, 8, 9)
  • Венера-14 – field recordings (track: 8)
  • Mike Deslandes – recording, mixing
  • Dav Byrne – mastering
  • Joe Becker – cover painting
  • Jamie Wdziekonski – photography
  • Andrew Quilty – photography
  • David Woodruff – layout

Charts

Chart (2019) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[57] 10
Independent Label Albums[58] 2
US Independent Albums (Billboard)[59] 18
US Top Heatseekers (Billboard)[59] 3
US Alternative Album Sales (Billboard)[59] 12
US Rock Album Sales (Billboard)[59] 23
US Top Album Sales (Billboard)[60] 93

References

  1. ^ a b "Tropical Fuck Storm – Braindrops". Dork.
  2. ^ a b c "Tropical Fuck Storm Braindrops". exclaim.ca.
  3. ^ a b c "Tropical Fuck Storm: Braindrops". Paste.
  4. ^ a b c "Braindrops - Tropical Fuck Storm | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic.
  5. ^ Simpson, Dave (23 August 2019). "Tropical Fuck Storm: Braindrops review – punchy alt punks in a burning world" – via www.theguardian.com.
  6. ^ [1]
  7. ^ "Tropical Fuck Storm announce new album 'Braindrops'; listen to new single 'Paradise'". leguesswho.nl.
  8. ^ a b Sun, Fuzzy (22 June 2019). "Tropical Fuck Storm to release 'Braindrops'".
  9. ^ "Tropical Fuck Storm Release New Album, Braindrops, on Aug. 23; Stream "Paradise"". Vents Magazine. 18 June 2019.
  10. ^ "Tropical Fuck Storm's Concert & Tour History | Concert Archives". www.concertarchives.org.
  11. ^ "Tropical Fuck Storm (ex-The Drones) touring w/ Modest Mouse + other dates". BrooklynVegan.
  12. ^ a b "King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard Tease New Music With The Drones' Gareth Liddiard". Music Feeds. 22 January 2019.
  13. ^ a b "Tropical Fuck Storm - "The Happiest Guy Around" | Post-Trash Premiere". POST-TRASH.
  14. ^ a b c "Liars - "Total 3 Part Saga" & Tropical Fuck Storm - "The Happiest Guy Around"". 12 September 2018.
  15. ^ a b "@kinggizzard on Instagram: 'NeW. MuSiC. CoMiNg. SoOn. ..'". Instagram. Retrieved 23 January 2019.
  16. ^ "Flightless Records". www.facebook.com.
  17. ^ a b Parker, Jack (4 March 2019). "Tropical Fuck Storm Sign to Flightless, Release Single".
  18. ^ a b "Tropical Fuck Storm sign with Flightless Records". 4 March 2019.
  19. ^ "Tropical Fuck Storm release new single 'The Planet Of Straw Men'". Mixdown.
  20. ^ "Tropical Fuck Storm Shares New Single "Paradise," Announce New Album | Ghettoblaster Magazine". 18 June 2019.
  21. ^ "Daily Dose: Tropical Fuck Storm, "Paradise"". pastemagazine.com. 18 June 2019.
  22. ^ "Tropical F*** Storm bring maximum intensity to a new single". Double J. 13 June 2019.
  23. ^ "Tropical Fuck Storm - Braindrops". Discogs.
  24. ^ "Tropical Fuck Storm : Braindrops | Has it Leaked?".
  25. ^ "Daily Dose: Tropical Fuck Storm, "Paradise"". pastemagazine.com.
  26. ^ "Tropical Fuck Storm Share New Song And Video 'Who's My Eugene?'". Music Feeds. 25 July 2019.
  27. ^ a b "Tropical Fuck Storm release new song and video for 'Braindrops'". 19 August 2019.
  28. ^ "The Quietus | News | WATCH: New Tropical Fuck Storm Video". The Quietus.
  29. ^ "20 New Songs Out Today". BrooklynVegan.
  30. ^ "Tropical Fuck Storm Shares Video "The Happiest Guy Around"". Ghettoblaster.
  31. ^ "Tropical Fuck Storm: Braindrops Keep Falling on My Head - News Leak". 14 July 2019.
  32. ^ a b "Braindrops by Tropical Fuck Storm reviews | Any Decent Music". anydecentmusic.com.
  33. ^ a b "Braindrops by Tropical Fuck Storm". Metacritic.
  34. ^ "Tropical Fuck Storm - Braindrops". DIY.
  35. ^ a b "Tropical F*ck Storm's Braindrops is a thrilling, high-minded mess". The Line of Best Fit.
  36. ^ "/". The Music.
  37. ^ Uncut October 2019 issue, page 63
  38. ^ owl beanie (26 August 2019). "Review: Tropical Fuck Storm - Braindrops". Sputnikmusic. Retrieved 7 May 2020.
  39. ^ Tom Hull. "Grade List: tropical fuck storm". Tom Hull - on the web. Retrieved 31 August 2020.
  40. ^ Terich, Jeff. "Album of the Week: Tropical Fuck Storm - Braindrops".
  41. ^ "ALBUM REVIEW: Tropical Fuck Storm – Braindrops | NARC. | Reliably Informed | Music and Creative Arts News for Newcastle and the North East". narcmagazine.com.
  42. ^ "holy fucking fuck thanks @iggypopofficial 🦘🛸🦘🛸 and @konbini #tropicalfuckstorm". Facebook.
  43. ^ "Godfather of punk IGGY POP tells the world 'Braindrops' is a good fu*k". Amnplify.
  44. ^ "Top Records of 2019". Conan Neutron's Protonic Reversal.
  45. ^ "FMG Best of 2019". Forward Music Group. 3 January 2020. Retrieved 31 March 2020. I was scared to see this band play, precisely because they are supposed to be so good. It never ends up being true. Fortunately, I also never end up being right. And for the record (pun intended), TFS's 2019 release Braindrops is as good as their first one, which is to say very great.
  46. ^ "The Australian Music Prize 2019". Australian Music Prize.
  47. ^ Wilson, Carl (10 December 2019). "The Best Albums of 2019". Slate Magazine.
  48. ^ "The Loud And Quiet best 40 albums of 2019". Loud And Quiet.
  49. ^ "The 50 best albums of 2019". Double J. 3 December 2019.
  50. ^ Mathieson, Craig (12 December 2019). "The best 10 albums of 2019 (and a few that came close)". The Sydney Morning Herald.
  51. ^ "The 15 Best Albums Of 2019". Junkee. 17 December 2019.
  52. ^ "Bill's Indie Basement: Best of 2019". BrooklynVegan.
  53. ^ "The Music 2019 Writers' Poll". The Music.
  54. ^ "The 75 best albums of 2019". City Pages.
  55. ^ "Jaarlijst Oor 2019". Muzieklijstjes. Retrieved 31 March 2020.
  56. ^ "Los mejores discos internacionales de 2019". Mondo Sonoro (in Spanish). 3 December 2019. Retrieved 7 October 2020. (Translated) There is nothing quite like the martian, arid and anarchic musical centrifuge of Tropical Fuck Storm, soundtrack to an era of general unhingedness. They deconstruct their influences - rock, post-punk, psychedelia, funk, hip-hop - and regurgitate them into distilled acid as expressionistic as the crazed cover illustration. [sic]
  57. ^ "ARIA Australian Top 50 Albums". Australian Recording Industry Association. 2 September 2019. Retrieved 31 August 2019.
  58. ^ "THIS WEEK IN THE CHARTS - SEPTEMBER 2ND". Australian Independent Record Labels Association. 2 September 2019. Retrieved 9 September 2019.
  59. ^ a b c d "Braindrops Chart History". Billboard.
  60. ^ "Tropical Fuck Storm Chart History (Top Album Sales)". Billboard.
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