Acid-brained trip hop could be a way to describe ” At Least It Beats an Actor,” the debut single of Brainwasher, a duo project made up of Matthew Duckworth Kirksey and Tommy McKenzie, of The Flaming Lips. Kirksey (vocals, drums, keyboards, sampler) and McKenzie (guitar, bass, keyboards, sampler) create a truly psychedelic atmosphere with in-the-red lead guitar, thundering bass, and a standard drum sample, while Kirksey’s hypnotic vocals slowly pull you closer and closer. This feels like the type of music that plays in the back of your mind right on the come up of an unruly trip.
“At Least It Beats an Actor” is the first single from Brainwasher’s upcoming LP, 39 Lightyears from Heaven (out via Mothalnd on September 9). The album is basically 10 years in the making, as the duo have been working on it in secret while touring with The Flaming Lips. Surrealist art, the American West, David Lynch, Nick Cave, Portishead, and their home state of Oklahoma are Brainwasher’s direct influences.
“At Least It Beats an Actor” also comes with a sporadic, strobe-drenched music video you can check out below.
