Brotherhood Electric Releases Modern Mind EP, 4/13/2013

Brotherhood Electric kicks off "Modern Mind" with a sense of yearning. “You sounded so vivid / When you showed me where you used to live / But now it’s gone.” And this is only twenty seconds in. But rest assured, it’s not all dreary. Later, they are filling their heads with “Spilt Beer.”

“Cigregret”, the first and by far the catchiest song on the EP, begs to be replayed the moment it ends. Bright washes of guitars and keyboards are accompanied by Jackson McGovern’s jittery drums. It all builds to a repeated outro that had me singing along even if I couldn’t understand all of the words.

Throughout the course of "Modern Mind," Brotherhood Electric comb the sonic territories mined by Yeasayer and Toro y Moi. Seemingly nourished on a diet of adult contemporary and electronic slow jams, Brotherhood Electric has charted a new course. Songs of seduction created by the video game generation. When the saxophone slithered into the second half of “My Love For You” all I could think was: Perfect.

After a number of tonal shifts over the course of the EP, vocalists Paul Grant and Garson Ormiston finally declare in unison “I’m still right here.” The yearning that kicked off Modern Mind was back. A yearning for understanding, for acceptance, for adulthood. But above all, a yearning to be heard. — Written by Josh Denslow