Quinn The Brain – Bad Friend (single)
Self-Released
Release Date: 25/10/22
Running Time: 04:34
Review by Dark Juan
10/10
Hello, good evening and welcome. It is I, Dark Juan, ruiner of virgins to toffs and gentry and otherwise disreputable denizen of local hostelries. Or I would be if I wasn’t advancing in years and have managed to injure my wanking hand without actually knowing how I have done this, therefore making me have to rely on my left hand (always follow the Left-Hand Path?), which is somewhat inconvenient as that’s the hand that’s usually holding the flagon of foaming ale, or not bother, which can make me testy and irritable. Add to this my ongoing recovery from COVID and you will no doubt be pleased to know I have been getting my kicks elsewhere and actually ventured to the cinema in the company of Mrs Dark Juan and our friend Carmen (all seasoned Horror aficionados). We proceeded to laugh ourselves silly at Barbarian, a splatter film that was supposed to be shocking but was in fact filled with chucklesome moments and a protagonist that you have very little sympathy for, as she passes up at least five chances to escape in one piece after being grabbed, and could have avoided it all if she had just done what any normal person would have done in the first THREE minutes and fucked off to a motel on the outskirts of the town she was in. Granted, it would have made for a very short film, but then at least the main protagonist could have been given my blessing for at least having some common sense, instead of incensing me with a series of poor decisions that make you wonder how she ever escaped childhood.
As usual, this has fuck all to do with what I am actually here to do, which is tell you about the rather fiery new single from Houston, Texas based Quinn The Brain – named after an all too real episode of Daria on the TV. Remember that programme? It was fucking brilliant. ‘Bad Friend’ is the name of this song and Dark Juan is privileged to have been personally asked by Arta (guitar / vocals) and Clint (bass) to give this new single a spin or two and share my sage and wise insights about it. Hence, we are away…
Opening with a meaty as fuck bass lick, it’s not long before grungy, fuzzy guitar with a rather meaner edge that the Quinn The Brain fan might be used to boots you in the guts, followed by an angsty, angry vocal. There’s an undeniable, uncompromising rage beneath Arta’s delivery as it switches from innocent little girl to full on riot grrl in the space of a couple of lines. Whoever this titular friend is, I’m not sure they will be surviving beyond the end of the week. There’s real, palpable menace in the vocal and this is a Very Good Thing indeed.
Quinn The Brain have always been rather more than the sum of their parts, being as they are able seemingly to take the rage and power of riot grrl Grunge and weld it with the angst and emotion of Alt-Rock and make something extremely delicious out of it. ‘Bad Friend’ is no different, the basic arrangement of the song being as Grunge as it is possible to be, yet with a surprising Punk edge on the simple, repeating yet powerful central guitar riff (think L7 circa “Bricks Are Heavy” and Babes In Toyland’s “Fontanelle”) and the chorus is just savage, with Arta underlying her normally quite sweet (but also disturbing) delivery with a menacing growl. The middle eight takes us into the realms of Alt-Rock before the song crashes back into the psyche of the listener with the line, “I’m sorry, the person you’re trying to reach is never fucking there!” Which, let’s face it, we have all felt at some point in our lives…
The song has a very Punky production as well, with guitar and bass to the fore throughout and there is a rumbling, visceral quality to it throughout. The whole song really does scream at you, “Don’t be fooled by the pretty dress and the cute smile, there’s a fucking huge hunting knife behind her back and it’s being jammed between your ribs if you make the tiniest of wrong moves.” Yet, for all the rage and the angst, there’s a curiously fragile and emotional undercurrent that’s endearing as fuck and I have no idea how the band manage this balance. It’s like the musical distillation of the rage you feel, mixed with the upset of a particularly bad break-up. Not unlike a honey badger, Quinn The Brain are cute but will fuck you up.
All in all, it’s another absolute fucking triumph from Dark Juan’s favourite new Grunge band then. This song has been on constant rotation since I got it and I have listened to it so often that I will be singing it in my grave. It appears that Dark Juan has a weakness for strong-ass frontwomen in babydoll dresses, Rickenbacker guitars and attitudes that scream danger, with rather large and menacing male friends behind them. All in all, everything appears to be returning to normal in the world of Dark Juan. I can’t wait to see Quinn The Brain in the UK.
The Patented Dark Juan Blood Splat Rating System awards Quinn The Brain 10/10 for a stupendous, stomp-a-long single that successfully melds rage, power and melody into a smorgasbord of aggression and growling menace.
LINE-UP:
Arta Salehi – Guitar and vocals
Clint Rater – Bass
LINKS:
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