Braindrops
{{for|the Fuzztones album|The Fuzztones}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2019}}
{{Infobox album
| name = Braindrops
| type = studio
| artist = Tropical Fuck Storm
| cover = Braindrops tfs.jpg
| alt =
| released = {{Start date|2019|08|23|df=y}}
| recorded = 2018–2019
| studio = Dodgy Bros Studios (Nagambie, Victoria)
| genre = *Art rock
- psychedelic rock
- noise rock
- post-punk{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2019/aug/23/tropical-fuck-storm-braindrops-review|title=Tropical Fuck Storm: Braindrops review – punchy alt punks in a burning world|first=Dave|last=Simpson|newspaper=The Guardian |date=August 23, 2019|via=www.theguardian.com}}
- experimental rock{{Cite web|url=https://www.echoesanddust.com/2019/08/tropical-fuck-storm-braindrops/|title=Tropical Fuck Storm - Braindrops|date=23 August 2019}}
| length = 48:11
| label = * Joyful Noise
| producer = * Gareth Liddiard
- Mike Deslandes
| prev_title = A Laughing Death in Meatspace
| prev_year = 2018
| next_title = Deep States
| next_year = 2021
| misc = {{Singles
| name = Braindrops
| type = studio
| single1 = The Planet of Straw Men
| single1date = 4 March 2019
| single2 = Paradise
| single2date = 17 June 2019
| single3 = Who's My Eugene?
| single3date = 25 July 2019
| single4 = Braindrops
| single4date = 19 August 2019
}}
}}
Braindrops is the second studio album by Australian supergroup Tropical Fuck Storm. It was released on 23 August 2019 through Flightless Records in Australia and Joyful Noise Recordings worldwide.{{Cite web|url=https://www.leguesswho.nl/news/tropical-f-storm-announce-new-album-braindrops-listen-to-new-single-paradise|title=Tropical Fuck Storm announce new album 'Braindrops'; listen to new single 'Paradise'|website=leguesswho.nl}}{{Cite web|url=https://fuzzy-sun.com/2019/06/22/tropical-fuck-storm-to-release-braindrops/|title=Tropical Fuck Storm to release 'Braindrops'|first=Fuzzy|last=Sun|date=June 22, 2019}}
Background
Following the release of their debut A Laughing Death in Meatspace in May 2018, the band would go on to play a series of national and international dates in varying capacities,{{Cite web|url=https://www.concertarchives.org/bands/tropical-fuck-storm|title=Tropical Fuck Storm's Concert & Tour History | Concert Archives|website=www.concertarchives.org}} including a few dates opening for Modest Mouse (on their fall tour in October 2018){{Cite web|url=http://www.brooklynvegan.com/tropical-fuck-storm-ex-the-drones-touring-w-modest-mouse-other-dates/|title=Tropical Fuck Storm (ex-The Drones) touring w/ Modest Mouse + other dates|website=BrooklynVegan|date=7 September 2018 }} and King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard (as a part of their Gizzfest event).{{Cite web|url=https://musicfeeds.com.au/news/king-gizzard-lizard-wizard-tease-new-music-gareth-liddiard/|title=King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard Tease New Music With The Drones' Gareth Liddiard|date=22 January 2019|website=Music Feeds}}
On 23 August 2018, the band premiered the song "The Happiest Guy Around", which ended up being one half of a split single with Liars (who contributed the track "Total 3 Part Saga") as the 18th instalment of the LAMC (Less Artists More Condos) series of 7-inch singles curated by Famous Class Records; where "an established musician on the A-side" is paired "with one of the musician’s favorite new artists on the B-side".{{Cite web|url=http://post-trash.com/news/2018/8/23/tropical-fuck-storm-the-happiest-guy-around-post-trash-premiere|title=Tropical Fuck Storm - "The Happiest Guy Around" | Post-Trash Premiere|website=POST-TRASH|date=23 August 2018 }}{{Cite web|url=https://www.stereogum.com/2013894/liars-tropical-fuck-storm/premiere/|title=Liars - "Total 3 Part Saga" & Tropical Fuck Storm - "The Happiest Guy Around"|date=12 September 2018}} The 7-inch was released on 28 September.
On 21 January 2019, King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard posted an image of them jamming with Liddiard in the foreground flipping the bird on their official Instagram account.{{cite web|url=https://www.instagram.com/p/Bs2XIYNFPbH/|title=@kinggizzard on Instagram: 'NeW. MuSiC. CoMiNg. SoOn. ..'|website=Instagram|access-date=2019-01-23}} This led some to speculate Liddiard's involvement with the band's new material "either as a guest or producer." On 4 March, Flightless announced that Tropical Fuck Storm had signed with them in Australia and New Zealand,{{Cite web|url=https://www.facebook.com/flightlessrecords/posts/2195991540423575|title=Flightless Records|website=www.facebook.com}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.allthingsloud.com/tropical-fuck-storm-sign-flightless-release-single/|title=Tropical Fuck Storm Sign to Flightless, Release Single|first=Jack|last=Parker|date=4 March 2019}}{{Cite web|url=https://themusicnetwork.com/tropical-fuck-storm-sign-with-flightless-records/|title=Tropical Fuck Storm sign with Flightless Records|date=4 March 2019}} and on the same day, the band premiered "The Planet of Straw Men" with video, which would be the first single from their second album Braindrops, set to be released "mid-2019" through Joyful Noise Records worldwide and Flightless in Australia and New Zealand.{{Cite web|url=http://www.mixdownmag.com.au/tropical-fuck-storm-release-new-single-planet-straw-men|title=Tropical Fuck Storm release new single 'The Planet Of Straw Men'|website=Mixdown|date=5 March 2019}}
On 17 June 2019, the band released the second single from their upcoming album, "Paradise"; the name of the album was also revealed to be Braindrops the same day, and its release date of 23 August was announced.{{Cite web|url=http://ghettoblastermagazine.com/tropical-fuck-storm-shares-new-single-paradise-announce-new-album/|title=Tropical Fuck Storm Shares New Single "Paradise," Announce New Album | Ghettoblaster Magazine|date=18 June 2019}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.pastemagazine.com/music/tropical-fuck-storm/tropical-fuck-storm-new-song/|title=Daily Dose: Tropical Fuck Storm, "Paradise"|date=18 June 2019|website=pastemagazine.com}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.abc.net.au/doublej/programs/curated/tropical-fuck-storm-paradise-new-single-blanck-mass/11206524|title=Tropical F*** Storm bring maximum intensity to a new single|date=13 June 2019|website=Double J}}
Release
Aside from the aforementioned singles, Joyful Noise released limited edition vinyl through their mail order website, and distributed hot magenta coloured vinyl and CD versions of the album.{{Cite web|url=https://www.discogs.com/Tropical-Fuck-Storm-Braindrops/release/13953439|title=Tropical Fuck Storm - Braindrops|website=Discogs|date=23 August 2019 }}
=Singles=
Four singles have been released from the album: "The Planet of Straw Men", "Paradise",{{Cite web|url=https://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2019/06/tropical-fuck-storm-new-song.html|title=Daily Dose: Tropical Fuck Storm, "Paradise"|website=pastemagazine.com|date=18 June 2019}} "Who's My Eugene?"{{Cite web|url=https://musicfeeds.com.au/news/tropical-fuck-storm-return-with-new-song-and-video-whos-my-eugene/|title=Tropical Fuck Storm Share New Song And Video 'Who's My Eugene?'|date=25 July 2019|website=Music Feeds}} and "Braindrops".{{Cite web|url=https://tonedeaf.thebrag.com/tropical-fuck-storm-release-new-song-and-video-for-braindrops/|title=Tropical Fuck Storm release new song and video for 'Braindrops'|date=19 August 2019}} Music videos for the tracks "The Planet of Straw Men",{{Cite web|url=https://thequietus.com/articles/26145-tropical-fuck-storm-new-video-watch|title=The Quietus | News | WATCH: New Tropical Fuck Storm Video|website=The Quietus}} "Braindrops", "Who's My Eugene?"{{Cite web|url=http://www.brooklynvegan.com/20-new-songs-out-today-18/|title=20 New Songs Out Today|website=BrooklynVegan|date=26 July 2019 }} and "The Happiest Guy Around"{{cite web|url=http://ghettoblastermagazine.com/tropical-fuck-storm-shares-video-the-happiest-guy-around/|title=Tropical Fuck Storm Shares Video "The Happiest Guy Around"|website=Ghettoblaster}} have also been released. A different mix of the track "The Happiest Guy Around" had also previously appeared as the B-side to a split single with Liars in August 2018, as a part of the LAMC series of singles curated by Famous Class Records.
=Cover=
Joe Becker, who had previously created the cover art for their debut album, was also credited with the cover art for Braindrops.{{Cite web|url=https://stompandstammer.com/news-leak/tropical-fuck-storm-braindrops-keep-falling-on-my-head/|title=Tropical Fuck Storm: Braindrops Keep Falling on My Head - News Leak|date=14 July 2019}}
Reception
=Critical=
{{Album reviews
| MC = 77/100{{Cite web|url=https://www.metacritic.com/music/braindrops/tropical-fuck-storm|title=Braindrops by Tropical Fuck Storm|publisher=Metacritic}}
| rev1 = AllMusic
| rev1score = {{rating|3.5|5}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/braindrops-mw0003293188|title=Braindrops - Tropical Fuck Storm | Songs, Reviews, Credits|website=AllMusic}}
| rev2 = DIY
| rev2score = {{rating|4|5}}{{Cite web|url=http://diymag.com/2019/08/23/tropical-fuck-storm-braindrops-album-review|title=Tropical Fuck Storm - Braindrops|website=DIY|date=23 August 2019 }}
| rev3 = Dork
| rev3score = {{rating|3|5}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.readdork.com/reviews/tropical-fuck-storm-braindrops|title=Tropical Fuck Storm – Braindrops|website=Dork|date=22 August 2019}}
| rev4 = Exclaim!
| rev4score = 8/10{{Cite web|url=http://exclaim.ca/music/article/tropical_fuck_storm-braindrops|title=Tropical Fuck Storm Braindrops|website=exclaim.ca}}
| rev5 = The Line of Best Fit
| rev6 = The Music
| rev6score = {{rating|4|5}}{{Cite web|url=https://themusic.com.au/reviews/tropical-fuck-storm-braindrops-christopher-h-james/3PzEzvHw8_I/|title=/|website=The Music}}
| rev7 = Paste
| rev7score = 8.2/10{{Cite web|url=https://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2019/08/tropical-fuck-storm-braindrops-review.html|title=Tropical Fuck Storm: Braindrops|work=Paste|date=19 August 2019}}
| rev8 = Sputnikmusic
| rev8score = {{Rating|4.5|5}}{{cite web|url=https://www.sputnikmusic.com/review/80104/Tropical-Fuck-Storm-Braindrops/|title=Review: Tropical Fuck Storm - Braindrops|author=owl beanie|website=Sputnikmusic|date=26 August 2019|accessdate=7 May 2020}}
| rev10 = Uncut
| rev10score = 8/10Uncut October 2019 issue, page 63
}}
The album currently holds a Metacritic score of 77 based on 10 reviews and an AnyDecentMusic? score of 7.7 based on 13 reviews.
Treble magazine, in a review published on 12 August 2019, named Braindrops their "Album of the Week" praising the track "Paradise" as "a sickly mirage of an oasis—you can practically see the disspiating heat haze over Liddiard's trickling guitar riffs. It slowly escalates its way toward a furious climax, turning into one of the most explosive break-up songs in recent memory". The review concludes: "Tropical Fuck Storm invite the chaos, orchestrating it, manipulating it, delivering a piece of mangled and bruised art that sounds magnificent at its most frayed and fragmented. It's a weirdness that feels strangely assuring, even necessary."{{Cite web|url=https://www.treblezine.com/reviews/tropical-fuck-storm-braindrops-review-album-of-the-week/|title=Album of the Week: Tropical Fuck Storm - Braindrops|first=Jeff|last=Terich|date=13 August 2019}} NARC Magazine gave the album a perfect score, writing that it "pretty much cements the Australians as one of the most vital acts on the planet right now."{{Cite web|url=https://narcmagazine.com/album-review-tropical-fuck-storm-braindrops/|title=ALBUM REVIEW: Tropical Fuck Storm – Braindrops | NARC. | Reliably Informed | Music and Creative Arts News for Newcastle and the North East|website=narcmagazine.com}} Exclaim! called it "a psychedelic rock opera occasionally dipping its toes in the stream of electro-punk. The result is equal parts harrowing and electrifying, surreal and far too familiar." According to Paste, "[l]istening to Braindrops feels like watching a sped-up timeline of rising sea levels and melting glaciers set to long-lost field recordings of maximalist noise-rock from the Outback. You're listening to a world falling apart." Braindrops, writes The Line of Best Fit, "is as cerebral and gut-level as its name implies, high-minded and high volume, a grand mess that isn't really a mess at all."
=Contemporary=
In an interview with Konbini, Iggy Pop praised the title track of the album, simply calling it "a good fuck".{{cite web|url=https://www.facebook.com/tropicalfstorm/videos/384563918903860/?v=384563918903860|title=holy fucking fuck thanks @iggypopofficial 🦘🛸🦘🛸 and @konbini #tropicalfuckstorm|website=Facebook}}{{cite web|url=https://amnplify.com.au/godfather-of-punk-iggy-pop-tells-the-world-braindrops-is-a-good-fuk/|title=Godfather of punk IGGY POP tells the world 'Braindrops' is a good fu*k|website=Amnplify|date=19 September 2019 }} Both Michael Feuerstack and Conan Neutron called it one of their favourite albums of the year, with the latter calling it "an utterly befuddling and "wrong" sounding record that is oh so "right." There isn't a clear monster single like "tyres" on this one, but the whole thing has a snakey, baked in the sun vibe that works its way into your subconscious."{{cite web|url=http://www.radioneutron.com/2019/12/30/top-records-of-2019/|title=Top Records of 2019|website=Conan Neutron's Protonic Reversal|date=30 December 2019}}{{cite web|url=https://www.forwardmusicgroup.com/fmg-best-of-2019/|title=FMG Best of 2019|quote=I was scared to see this band play, precisely because they are supposed to be so good. It never ends up being true. Fortunately, I also never end up being right. And for the record (pun intended), TFS’s 2019 release Braindrops is as good as their first one, which is to say very great.|website=Forward Music Group|date=3 January 2020|accessdate=31 March 2020}}
=Awards and nominations=
The album has been nominated for the Australian Music Prize of 2019.{{Cite web|url=https://www.australianmusicprize.com/2019-finalists|title=The Australian Music Prize 2019|website=Australian Music Prize}}
=Accolades=
Track listing
{{Track listing
| headline = Braindrops track listing
| all_writing = Tropical Fuck Storm
| title1 = Paradise
| length1 = 6:14
| title2 = The Planet of Straw Men
| length2 = 4:52
| title3 = Who's My Eugene?
| length3 = 4:41
| title4 = The Happiest Guy Around
| length4 = 4:28
| title5 = Maria 62
| length5 = 3:56
| title6 = Braindrops
| length6 = 6:42
| title7 = Aspirin
| length7 = 5:14
| title8 = Desert Sands of Venus
| length8 = 4:14
| title9 = Maria 63
| length9 = 7:50
| total_length = 48:11
}}
Personnel
- "Gaz" (Gareth Liddiard) – performer, recording engineer, mixing engineer
- "Fi Fi" (Fiona Kitschin) – performer
- "RKO" (Erica Dunn) – performer
- "Hammer" (Lauren Hammel) – performer
=Additional credits=
{{div col}}
- J.P. Shilo – violin (tracks: 5, 8, 9), guitar (tracks: 5, 8, 9), organ (tracks: 5, 8, 9)
- Венера-14 – field recordings (track: 8)
- Mike Deslandes – recording, mixing
- Dav Byrne – mastering
- Joe Becker – cover painting
- Jamie Wdziekonski – photography
- Andrew Quilty – photography
- David Woodruff – layout
{{div col end}}
Charts
| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
|+ Chart performance for Braindrops ! scope="col"| Chart (2019) ! scope="col"| Peak |
| {{album chart|Australia|10|artist=Tropical Fuck Storm|album=Braindrops|rowheader=true|access-date=18 August 2021}} |
| scope="row"| Australian Independent Albums (AIR){{cite web|url=https://www.air.org.au/feature/story/this-week-in-the-charts-september-2nd|title=THIS WEEK IN THE CHARTS - SEPTEMBER 2ND|publisher=Australian Independent Record Labels Association|date=2 September 2019|accessdate=9 September 2019}}
| 2 |
|---|
| {{Album chart|BillboardHeatseekers|3|artist=Tropical Fuck Storm|rowheader=true|access-date=18 August 2021}} |
| {{Album chart|BillboardIndependent|18|artist=Tropical Fuck Storm|rowheader=true|access-date=18 August 2021}} |
| {{Album chart|BillboardAlbumSales|93|artist=Tropical Fuck Storm|rowheader=true}} |
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M2xOxmHTYMg, Official music video for "The Planet of Straw Men"]
- [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=88do5cmxHsI, Official music video for "Who's My Eugene?"]
- [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RCpwN1d7as0, Official music video for "Braindrops"]
- [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PigvDDMPpWQ, Official music video for "The Happiest Guy Around"]
{{Tropical Fuck Storm}}
{{Authority control}}
Category:Tropical Fuck Storm albums