3 out of 5

Produced by: Eli Janney

Label: Touch and Go

I have a tough time sussing out exactly why this album doesn’t work for me (what a great way to start a review…), seeing as how, stylistically, its almost a mirror image of preceding disc Bonsai Superstar, which is one of my favorite albums of all time.

…But perhaps the secret is in that very statement: with the purposeful intention of incorporating more electronics, a shift which ultimately would (by cruel fate) peak on Brainiac’s final release, Electro-Shock for President, the wacky wild slip-slide grungey antics on Hissing Prigs never manage to sound quite as unleashed as those on Bonsai.  Even when Mr. Taylor is screaming his head off, as on the Albini-captured single Nothing Ever Changes, the track oddly feels hemmed in, and winds down before it can prove that its their to incite something truly special.  This pattern repeats throughout the disc, unfortunately, with the noise experimentations that walked us between songs on Bonsai replaced by those aforementioned electronics.  It’s something of a subtle shift, I suppose, as the ratio of song-to-inbetweener-songs remains about the same as before, but because the nature of those “other” moments has changed, it affects the whole disc experience.

It’s the difference between inspiration and calculation.  Brainiac were turning into a very smart band, evolving on their initial Nirvana-indebted sound, but, to my ears, leaving behind some of the more instant infectiousness of their sound at the same time.  Hissing Prigs’ rock songs are still a uniquely Brainiac-y beast, and I definitely get the chorus from Hot Seat Can’t Sit Down or 70 Kg Man stuck in my head after a listen, but the album is more one of interest with some highlights as opposed to Bonsai’s end-to-end success.