Kevin Bronson on October 9th, 2019

0

Despite what you might think from the video for “Beautyful Beauti” — an even-more-stoned “Dazed and Confused” with a trumpet outro — Brainstory mean business.

Their quest to be the biggest thing to come out of Rialto since NFL Hall of Famer Ronnie Lott began out of boredom with the hardcore punk and skating scenes. They delved into jazz, eventually baking it (so to speak) into the sounds of psychedelic funk and soul. Their 2017 EP only hinted at the groove-a-licious music to come. And thanks to an introduction from Chicano Batman’s Eduardo Arenas, Brainstory linked up with Big Crown Records to release their album “Buck” on Nov. 15.

(A lot this is explained, more or less, in Episode 1 of Brainstory’s just-launched podcast, which was recorded, apparently, with some of the band pants-less.)

The trio — brothers Kevin and Tony Martin and Eric Hagstrom — refers to “Buck” as “a state of mind, a way of life, a demeanor that gets you through the good times and the bad.” The album makes it every bit as much as an action verb, with inviting grooves, warm tones and surprising changes.

“Sorry” and “Mnemophobia” (meaning fear of memory) are the latest two singles. The former, Kevin Martin says, “speaks to the lover and the beloved, a conversation between partners and Gods. A conversation to the human in the mirror and a revelation of what must be in the face of truth.” It’s a tune that could have come from a cobwebbed corner of the late ’60s.

As for the “Beautyful Beauti” video, directed by Danny Akalepse and Leon Michels, Martin says it’s “a stoner adventure starring the Brainstory crew and friends. Like the song, it’s an homage to all things beautiful, and in this case, it’s blazing it with your homies and shooting Farkle all night long ’til you can’t keep score! … So, pack it, roll it, vape it, blaze it and enjoy.”

||| Watch: The video for “Beautyful Beauti”

||| Also: Stream “Sorry” and “Mnemophobia”

||| Live: Brainstory perform Nov. 16 at the Big Crown Records showcase at the Get Together at the Geffen Contemporary at MOCA in downtown L.A. Info. They also play Nov. 15 at the Yost Theater in Santa Ana with the Originators as part of a Big Crown showcase in O.C.

||| Previously: “Breathe,” “Fruitless Trees,” “The Future”