Brain Salt

Self-described as an electronic rock n’ roll quartet, Brooklyn’s Brain Salt closed out the St. Patrick’s Day live music festivities at NYC’s The Delancey this Friday night. With an eclectic retro sound displaying shades of progressive rock, Brain Salt delighted the festive crowd with a fun, upbeat setlist including tracks off their debut EP Crowds.

Check out some shots from the show and be sure to keep track with Brain Salt via social links below (including their cool cover of Game of Thrones‘ main theme song). - Music Existence

Brain Salt plays The Shop on 3.17

There’s a beauty and freedom in being a new band, mainly consisiting in being free of any preconceived notions or assumptions of their style based on previous works. This often translates into a sound that's fresh sounding and unpretentious, and this is exactly what Brooklyn's Brain Salt has done with their debut EP 'Crowds.' Opener “Wisdom of Crowds” and “New Orbit” play with synths and twinkling, textural piano compositions whereas “New Theme from Troll 2” has more of a theatrical nature to it and heavier guitar rhythms. See them live at The Shop in Brooklyn on March 17. - Adriana S Ballester - The Deli

New York electric rock n rollers, Brain Salt, released their first EP, Crowds, back in early 2016, and are now about to release their second EP, Cleanin’ Up – so how does this fair after over a year since last hearing from these guys. Not bad it turns out.

Firstly, with ‘Necessary Technique’, it delivers an interesting introduction, setting the tone of the whole EP, with a very good riff, and unique vocals, giving off an early rock sound, which is always great to hear, showing how unique the band’s sound is, and giving a great introduction to it all. Second is ‘Freak Out’, which has a more jazz-like sound, with a vibrant electric touch and simple yet intriguing lyrics, but does slightly sound a little like a lounge band. If that’s their intention, then that’s fine, but it’s something to be wary of. Next is ‘They’re Waiting’, a really good instrumental track, great work from the guitars with the different riffs featured in it, as well as working well with the keyboard to give a lush, relaxing 70’s vibe. Finally is the title track, ‘Cleanin’ Up’, which has both a great soul feel at the start of the song, and also a great rock ‘n’ roll vibe that kicks in after that, making the track fun and energetic, as well as creative lyrics working well with the instrumentation.

Overall, it’s a step in the right direction for the New York quartet, but there is still a lot of room for improvement for the band. Considering that this is their second EP, it shows that there is a lot of potential for them and their music, and there can only be great things coming their way soon. One to watch out for, and this EP is one to listen to. - Music Existence

Gallery: Brain Salt live at Knitting Factory, Brooklyn NY 02.03.18 - Music Existence

Brain Salt is a brooklyn based electronic rock band. The group released its first EP called “Crowds”, in 2016 and its second EP called “Cleanin up”, in 2017. In October 2018, the band released its first single, “Monster hands” a Halloween-themed love song in two parts. The release of their record “Monster Hands” is a festive and unique love bop that we can add to our spooky valentines playlists! Their cinematic and edgy rock sound was something we found to be completely absorbable in the moment. What I liked the most about this record was its outgoing and quirky elements. The song instantly brought a joyful smile to my face due to the delightful and vibrant aura brain salt produced. It’s the upbeat and exciting section of rock music some artists tends to ignore. Rock comes into different spectrums and this mini subgenre of fun is rarely ever displayed. However it’s much appreciated and gives brain salt this authentic flare that could carry them a long way in this industry.

Give "Monster Hands" a listen to here, and keep an eye out for their Instagram or Twitter pages.

Check out Brain Salt's website to keep up to date with the band!

#BuzzMusic

Check out some interview questions below where Brain Salt gives us a sense of their inspiration and upcoming goals.

What inspired you guys to name yourselves "Brain Salt"?

Pete saw a medicine bottle labeled "Brain Salt" in a display about prohibition at a certain bourbon distillery/museum in Louisville while we were trying to figure out the band name. He felt this HAD to be the name and fortunately everyone agreed.

How would you describe your music style?

Dancey, jamtastic, funky progressive rock.

Do you guys face any challenges in collaborating as a band?

Not really. We're all pretty laid back and happy to try anything that anyone lays on the table. As a result we actually have several songs that came together within the first one or two times of playing them!

Can you tell us about the creation process of "Monster Hands"?

Coach originally wrote the music for the first half of "Monster Hands" as a tribute to his wife's unique dance moves (hands and arms waving up and down like a funky zombie on the prowl). He had written a separate piece of music that became, but was never intended to be, the second half of the song. However, after bringing both pieces to the band, it became clear that two pieces complimented each other perfectly. Pete then suggested lyrics that fit the vibe, and Adam worked out the vocal harmonies. Based on the Halloween and love themes, "Monster Hands" quickly became known as "a Halloween-themed love song in two parts." The song combines the best elements of Brain Salt: danceable, catchy rhythms, light-hearted lyrics, and solid rock 'n roll musicianship. As for the video: We knew that we wanted to do a video for "Monster Hands" that involved the band doing wacky things while wearing actual monster hands. We also had some vague notions of incorporating some tropes from 1990's MTV-era music videos (e.g. dancing while looking down into a camera, faded coloration, flannel shirts, all book-ended with that classic video tagline info). Additionally, we had access to three professionally trained dogs (Ernie the Aussie, Einstein the Poodle, and Izzie the Cutie). Putting those ideas together, we developed the concept of the band performing while wearing monster hands, and decided on two locations: Forest Park in Queens, and Troutman Street in the Bushwick section of Brooklyn (known for its incredible street art). We worked closely with Eric Mann, our friend and owner of Unreel Films, to plot out the video shoot, and shot the whole video in one epic day. Eric did an incredible job bringing our vision to life. He also captured some hilarious unscripted moments with the puppies that really tie the video together.


What's the most momentary part of your career as a band thus far?

Before we put out "Crowds," our first EP, we hadn't yet purchased our private jet. Fortunately, that was momentary. ;-)

The most momentous/exciting point of our career was the release show for our first full-length record, "Brain Salt: The Album". We played one of our best shows in front of a great crowd at Mercury Lounge in New York City, complete with an amazing light show and disco ball madness.

What can we expect to see from you guys in 2019?


We're currently working on a few more music videos to support the album while also beginning pre-production on our next release, which will likely be our second full-length album. We're also hoping to make a live in-studio video EP from those sessions as well. And of course, plenty of shows since live Brain Salt is the best BrainSalt!

We're currently expanding our live performances outside of New York City and into Connecticut, Upstate New York, Massachusetts and beyond. Current dates include: Fri. Feb. 22 at Main Street Tavern, Stratford, CT; Fri. Mar. 1 at the Bitter End in New York City; Sun. Apr. 7 at Lucy's in Pleasantville, NY; Sat. Apr. 20 (at the stroke of midnight) at Rockwood Music Hall; and Sat. May 11 at Newburyport Brewing Company in Newburyport, MA. - Buzz Music