Indianapolis garage-blues firebrands Brother O’ Brother have released a video for Sunshine, taken from new album Neon Native.
The song features the kind of slinky riff that used to keep Marc Bolan awake at night, allied to a blues n’ roll chorus that sounds like Girls Against Boys at their most grindingly lascivious. It burns.
“Sunshine in short is basically just about our love for being on the road and the lifestyle around it for us,” says frontman Chris Banta. We did nearly 100 dates last year and should pass a bit over 100 for the first time this year. Basically just eating garbage food, watching wrestling at every turn (we are total jobbers), and just being goons with band friends and people we meet on the road. We do all this while still holding down full time jobs, being married, kids, running Romanus Records [see below], and booking shows. The road truly is the sweet relief.
“When writing the song I had been on a huge T Rex and early Bowie kick and wanted that old school fuzz groove to come out. Warner [drummer Warner Snopes] brought the beat and I think we found it!”
The pair formed Brother O’ Brother in 2013 (initially as a trio, although they dropped the third member a year later), and have gone on to make three studio albums, mixing the devout fury of the MC5 with the stripped-down mechanics of The White Stripes or The Black Keys.
Banta’s label Romanus Records specialises in “unique forms of vinyl for both the collector and the listener.” Neon Native is one such project, released as a “Ravishing Native” limited edition of 25 handmade silver and gold copies and looking something like the floor mosaic in an expensive Turkish bath. It quickly sold out (as has the regular pressing; a repress has already been ordered).
Neon Native is available now from Romanus Records and Bandcamp. The band also have a series of live dates lined up (see below).
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Brother O Brother live dates
Aug 03: Mile Of Music, Appleton, WI
Aug 04: Mile Of Music, Appleton, WI
Aug 05: Mile Of Music, Appleton, WI
Aug 10: Deja Vu Martini Lounge, Appleton, WI
Aug 11: Ignition Music Garage, Goshen, IN
Aug 12: Veseria Album Release @ The Hifi, Indianapolis, IN
Aug 18: Kammys Kause, Indianapolis, IN
Sep 01: The Erers release at The Loving Touch, Detroit, MI
Sep 02: Whiskey War Festival, Saint Louis, MO
Sep 09: Hoosier Brewhouse Girls Inc Benefit, Franklin, IN
Sep 15: US 12 Bar & Grill Wayne, MI
Sep 30: The Grange Fest, Huntington, IN
Nov 04: Jett Plastic Fest, Detroit, MI
