Brown Brogues – Triflin’

Courtesy of Stolen Body Records in the UK, weirdo Manchester duo BROWN BROGUES are back with their second album titled Triflin’. It’s filled with their psyched-out grooves, combining muddy surf rock with a noisy snarl.

The album begins with the ripping psych-surf burner in “Beach Ghost Face Killah,” quickly starting this LP off on a dark and sludgy note. It’s instrumental like a couple songs on the LP, save for the echoed vocal chants early on. Roaring guitars and reverberating fuzz quickly fills the air, followed by crushing drums and smoking sonics for one hell of an introduction. “Split Disc” slows everything back down, prepping us for the album’s sloppy and loose-fitting qualities. “A G From the Cradle” keeps their grungy snarl afloat, hereby setting the pace for the rest of the LP. The song creeps along at a foreboding pace, combining a chilling whisper along with a dirgy guitar buzz. The song catches you off guard when you’re thrown into a sparkling atmosphere, clouded by a smokey vapor that envelopes the track.

The album’s lead single “I Kill” shows off many of these qualities, following a menacing guitar buzz through a tribal-like rhythm section. Deadpan vocals echo out from the cavernous depths, cooing and howling as the track unfolds. Other album highlights are exposed in punk-inflected songs “Loving Mouthful of Choke” and “Gimme a Reason.” Both are burdened by a bluesy guitar hook, pushing the pedal to the metal through two minimally ravaging blues-punk onslaughts. They’re sparse yet direct, coming off with a bare-bones sort of structure with nothing more than guitar, drums and vocals. They close out the album with another instrumental guitar burner in “Laser Beast.” It’s right on point with the rest of the album, and it leaves me comfortable saying these guys are like a less spontaneous and slowed-down version of Chicago’s Heavy Times. Check out these few cuts from the album below and see how you feel.

My Rating: SS
Genre/ Tags: Psychedelic, Blues Rock, Lo-Fi, Grunge, Slowcore
Triflin’ LP: Tracklist:
1.) Beach Ghost Face Killah
2.) Split Disc
3.) A G From the Cradle
4.) Shake It
5.) All My Dreams Are Gold
6.) I Kill
7.) Beef Teef
8.) Cryin’
9.) Loving Mouthful of Choke
10.) Gimme A Reason
11.) Laser Beast