Brain Handle – “Brain Handle” – No Way Records

Brain Handle put out two 7”s before this record that were both wonderful snotty hardcore punk rock, then right around the time this LP came out, Iron Lung Records released the “Smiling/Smiling Again” record that blew my mind. This band did what a lot of the fast-punk 2006 hardcore bands did, but their songs were dense and the songs felt like cohesive music instead of sounding like bursts of punk. It feels tense and rushed and a little bit chaotic but there is also a feeling that there are songs smashed under a lot of the periods of frustration.
Where Brain Handle really succeeded was when they stepped out of trying to sound like an a-typical hardcore band. When the guitars played Dick Dale licks or the bass did runs instead of pounding out a note, there was definitely a feeling that this band was different. On the other side of the coin however, is that there are songs that have so unmemorable that it actually diminishes the quality of the record. The first song on the second side is such a genre-standard that I almost feel bad for the second and third songs on that side that are total rippers.



The Brain Handle continued for a few years after this LP, and put out one more 7” that I’ve never seen nor heard, but really this LP is THE record to own. The art is damn near perfect execution of unusual punk record cover, as is the music.