Three years after the release of Welcome to Fat City (Wind-Up Records) Crobot returns with Motherbrain (Mascot Records). I’ve actually been looking forward to this release for quite a while. I can’t get enough of dirty, rock jams.

The single ‘Low Life’ blends a catchy chorus with an eventual cry against those little doubts the lurk in the back of our heads. You know the ones I’m talking about, we all had an angsty LiveJounal at one point. This serves as a decent hook to get listeners to check out the rest of the record.

‘Alpha Dawg’ oozes those sleazy vibes you’d find in some dive bar but, unlike said dive bar, lacks substance. I like the song well enough but it’s not all that memorable on its own compared to some of the other tracks on Motherbrain.

The album doesn’t really come alive until you get to ‘Gasoline’. From the opening chords to Brandon Yeagley’s vocals, this song feels like it could have been a Something Supernatural (Nuclear Blast Records) B side. I also just really love the line “Poisonous tongues created me”. Maybe it’s just the way Brandon says it.

We need to talk about ‘Blackout’. I love this song. It’s probably my favorite one on Motherbrain overall and, knowing me, it’s definitely the bass. The song picks up around the 2:35 mark but quickly goes back to the hip-swaying track before fading out with more of that delicious bass. However, ‘Blackout’ isn’t perfect. Maybe that short break could have been filled with something a bit more exciting like a real solo.

Although not a terrible album by any means, Motherbrain will leave longtime Beardos craving more of those sleazy, crunchy riffs and basslines that remind us of a well-spent youth. Like many men before it, this album just never quite managed to get me there. That said, memories are erased by the Motherbrain so what do I know?

6 / 10

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