This story is featured in CityBeat’s Feb. 22 print issue.
Has it really been more than a quarter century since Brainiac infiltrated the ear canals of adventurous listeners across the Midwest and beyond?
The Dayton-based quartet existed for only five years, but what a run it was, delivering three full-length albums (1993’s Smack Bunny Baby, 1994’s Bonsai Superstar and 1996’s Hissing Prigs in Static Couture) and an EP (1997’s Electro-Shock for President) before a car accident took the life of dynamic frontman Tim Taylor in May of 1997.
Rumor has it Brainiac was on the verge of signing to a major label at the time of Taylor’s demise, which is hard to fathom today given that the band’s jittery brand of electro rock was moving into an even artier and more atmospheric direction as they went along. It’s nearly as hard to believe that Brainiac’s surviving members — bassist Juan Monasterio, guitarist John Schmersal and drummer Tyler Trent — are finally reuniting for the release of an EP of previously unreleased demos titled The Predator Nominate. The nine-song effort features a curious array of musical sketches, all under two minutes, representing the last of Brainiac’s recorded output.
The instrumental title track sounds like an emission from another planet with simmering keyboards intermingling as if they have a life of their own. “Pyramid Theme,” with its clanging rhythms and eerie mood, brings to mind a narcotically dosed version of something off of Radio- head’s Kid A. The most haunting tune here is “Smothered Inside,” which features Taylor’s most straightforward vocal delivery ever, a yearning ache backed only by droning electric guitar.
The remaining Brainiac members have booked a series of live shows in celebration of the EP’s release, including a stint opening for Scottish indie rock masters Mogwai in Europe and a trio of U.S. shows culminating with a stop in Cincinnati, which has long counted the Daytonians as enduring area heroes.
“For us, this is a way to still be in awe of Tim, to honor him, or else we wouldn’t do it,” Tyler Trent said in a recent interview with the New York Times. “And I wish people could see how much joy and life and healing Tim’s mom gets out of this. Tim was one in a million.”
Brainiac plays Woodward Theater at 9 p.m. Feb. 25. Doors open at 8 p.m. The Serfs will open the show. Info: woodwardtheater.com.
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This article appears in Feb 8-21, 2023.