Technically, these guys have a newer album out, but this is the one I'm most familiar with, and like the best, so this is the getting a write-up from me. Austin funk-freaks Brownout have tasked themselves with the outlandish objective of reinterpreting the classic bombastic beats of Public Enemy’s Bomb Squad on their Fat Beats debut, Fear of a Brown Planet. However, simply covering the source material that Enemy’s production crew sampled in a Latin funk style is only part of their objective. The real magic of this release is the way Brownout has taken the most iconic kernels of dense sonic gold from the Bomb Squad’s repertoire and expanded and reinterpreted them as if they were meant to be incorporated into a James Brown-styled soul revue. Each iconic track is rebuilt from the ground up to the point where it becomes a wholly original composition, even when standing next to the giants of its inspiration. “Louder Than a Bomb” is reimagined as a debonair, swaggering Peter Gunn-esque strut, “Fight the Power” becomes a slapping psych-funk cruiser accompanied by a roaring horn section, “Trackstar the DJ” is a scratch session with a cracking beat and Latin flavored brass section punctuated by various KRS-One vocal samples, “Welcome to the Terrordome” is realized as a kaleidoscopic, blood-sucking sandstorm, and “Prophets of Rage” feels ripped from the soundtrack of a gritty ‘70’s, smack-dealer-roundhouse-kicking crime-thriller. Someday, we might find ourselves living in a saner sphere, but in the meantime, we at least get to share this plane with the likes of Brownout and enjoy their vision of a better (sonic) world.
If your beats aren't fat, then they ain't heavy (Fat Beats Records)
