Music Reviews

“brainiacs_daughter”

Brainiac’s Daughter

Behave

Redline

With song titles such as “Give Myself To You,” “Love Be Love,” and “Fever,” one would assume that this Tampa-based “Sci-fi techno-pop, electro-funk” quartet specialized in writing power ballads, capitalizing on the sex appeal of their lead singer, Kristry Jo Haima. Au Contraire – Behave , their debut CD, features an intelligent collaboration of crafty songwriters who dare not pin themselves into one classification of music. Instead, creating a sound using the best of disco, grunge, techno, and funk, the band transcends all comparisons that have been placed upon them – with the comparison to Garbage at the forefront. The seductive appearance of their red-haired, go-go boots and leather wearin’ lead singer, “Kjo,” does warrant some comparison to singers like Shirley Manson of Garbage, but Kjo’s distinctiveness is in her ability to look and sound sultry yet write in-your-face lyrics that are anything but polished and pretty. Her words are at times raw and on-edge (from “Angry Love,” “please forgive me a lethal injection in the vein/a remedy against the pain”). Her voice ranges from a gentile whisper into dual harmonic belts of the outro choruses on songs like “Feel It Inside” and “Fever.”

The CD, produced and engineered by the band, also shows musicians who know exactly how they want their music depicted, and do an excellent job in its production. Techno loops and beats have a tendency to overpower the song itself, however in this case, those programmed funk-beat interludes just highlight the distinct and catchy melodies and rich baselines. Overall, the CD has an ethereal and sometimes downright ominous vibe that is sure to put the listener in a free-willed trance.

Redline Records, 2743 Enterprise Road, Suite #11, Clearwater, FL 33759


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