One by One: 7 Tracks cassette

One By One: 7 Tracks cassette (Brainrotter Records) Brainrotter Records brings us the debut cassette from this hardcore band out of Brighton, England. I’ve liked pretty much everything Brainrotter has put out, but this One by One tape immediately stood out to me as one of the best things they’ve released so far. One by One is of the most authentically 82-era USHC-sounding British bands I’ve ever heard, and on this recording they capture the vibe of Poison Idea’s early recordings more effectively than just about anyone else I can think of. As I sit with the songs, though, I hear plenty of other influences and reference points in One by One’s sound. The vocals are more unhinged than Jerry A’s, reminding more of Jackal from YDI. I also hear a bunch of cool, locked-in rhythmic change-ups that make me think of the Negative Approach 7”. The recording, while appropriately vintage-sounding, is quite raw, and it makes me wonder what they’d sound like with a clearer recording. This demo is pretty killer, but if you got them hooked up with someone who owns at least a thousand dollars worth of microphones, I have a feeling the results would be deadly. In the meantime, though, I’ll get plenty of mileage out of this tape.