Brother O’Brother “Neon Native” 2017. Romanus Records. Today, October 10th, is singer/guitarist/white-boot wearing/hard-working/all-around great guy Chris Banta’s birthday (b. 1986). Happy birthday, Chris! I have three copies of Neon Native: a super-limited edition liquid filled variant, an equally limited edition gold-stamped holographic copy and a tie-dye splatter version, both pictured below. (I should say three and counting. I’m beyond excited to see Chris’ latest mad invention: the world’s first remote controlled LED-lit vinyl record release of Neon Native.) His label, Romanus Records, also produces some amazing custom vinyl for other stellar bands, including Suck the Honey, The Ghost Wolves, Verseria, Calliope and The Maness Brothers.

We first stumbled upon Brother O’Brother a little over a year ago at Mile of Music after reading this description of the band in the festival program: “Brother O’ Brother, an Indianapolis-based duo, formed in the Summer of 2013 and began making music with the message of love in mind and combining their message with their garage, blues and gospel sound. They participate in this conversation of life by drenching guitars in fuzz, booming drums, and mountains of smoke and lights.” I’ve since seen them at least eight more times and can say without hesitation that Chris Banta and Warner Swopes are two of the most dynamic performers out there and put every ounce of energy and sweat into their shows. They are also super-sweet guys with enough patience to hang out with our kid, Vault-boy.

I wrote about the save-your-soul-by-rock-n-roll bluesy garage tornado of fuzzed-fury that is Neon Native in March ‘17 (before its official release in May) and before any links were available. I’m pasting my comments again here, though now updated for full visual and auditory enjoyment.

Leading off the album is “R.O.S.E.,” a track I’ve written about before (it was released on a split single in 2016), and it’s a slow burning heavy blues rocker that builds into an explosion of fury. “16 Flowers” is scorching blues, with a decidedly punk attitude. “Sunshine” is full of T.Rex swagger, churning fuzzed out angry guitars (and one of my favorites). “Grab the Rope” has a grungy-headbanging tempo with a scathing political message. “I Got It” is another favorite on Neon Native; I’m totally partial to ass-shakers and this one does not disappoint with its locomotive rhythm guitar that breaks into an infectious hook at the chorus. “I Confess” showcases Banta’s gospel preacher-intense delivery to the music of deep humid Southern blues inspiration. “Cardinal” is bluesy via Zeppelin guitars. “Fever” is the longest track on the album and it burns slowly like a, well, fever, eventually building into a bonfire so hot you can feel Banta’s sweat seeping through the speakers. “White Noise” takes the listener on a completely different journey, heading down to mountain country with a stomping acoustic beat, a little bluegrass infused into Brother O’Brother’s blues rock. “Take Me” starts with a traditional blues guitar lament while Banta admonishes, cajoles and pleads “If you love me, you gotta take me as I am.” OK! “Life on Mars” is sparse, lots of space for the lyrics to shine, and then gravity takes shape into a fiery explosion at the chorus; this track is another great example of Brother O’Brother’s ability to build beautiful tension into their songs. The album concludes with “Widow Maker” which has a lilting 50′s/60′s pop rhythm and 3-chord punk melodic sensibility while Banta contemplates the nature of life.