Ordinary Brainwash -
Labeled Out Loud


(CD 2011, 44:43, Lynx Music, LM 63DG-CD)

The tracks:
  1- Once Upon A Time (2:38)
  2- Labeled Out Loud (3:52)
  3- Time To Tag (6:56)
  4- Puppet (5:04)
  5- Plastic (2:50)
  6- Fanatic (5:01)
  7- Icons Of Our Generation (5:08)
  8- Burnout (8:10)
  9- The End (5:05)

Ordinary Brainwash Website        Lynx Music


The Polish one-man band Ordinary Brainwash is still not one of the most cheerful bands around. Labeled Out Loud - I'm not sure why 'labelled' is misspelled here - sounds like it was recorded during a harsh Polish winter while the roof was leaking, there was no money for decent heating, and mastermind Rafal Zak injured his knees during a fall. So is there any difference with the debut album Disorder In My Head ? Oh yes, there is. For the debut I mentioned references like Pain Of Salvation and OSI, this time around it's clearly Porcupine Tree which has been the source of inspiration of Zak. The first three tracks of Labeled Out Loud are more or less regular depressive people music, but the fourth track Puppet sounds like Porcupine Tree because of the singing, while the fifth track Plastic sounds like Porcupine Tree's In Absentia. However, the biggest surprise is kept till the penultimate track Burnout which for a long time sounds like Mogwai - because of the lengthy instrumental intro - until Porcupine Tree kicks in again. It needs to be said, Ordinary Brainwash manages to make his own style of music clearly audible on this CD so there's no direct copying. I still think this band can become big. Maybe they should go on tour with Riverside in order to get out of anonymity on these shores.

 ****- André de Waal (edited by Peter Willemsen)

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