Before ever hearing Trepanation,, or The Brain Surgeons at all for that matter, I had heard nothing but good things about this album. But mostly they were one word quotes and snippets like "awesome" "great" or "I love it". Yes, even I had thrown some of these phrases into the ring. But the more I listen to this work of subtle miracles, I feel that these little niceties just aren't enough any more, and that I must say much more.
The Brain Surgeons are a New York-based quintet which is the creative project of the husband/wife team of (original Blue Oyster Cult drummer) Albert Bouchard, and noted rock critic Deborah Frost. Deb's writing credentials include The Village Voice, Rolling Stone, Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Creem, Spin, Addicted To Noise, and Musician, to name but a few. Trepanation was released in 1995 on their Cellsum Record label and is due to be re-released for wider distribution on Ripe and Ready in 1996. The quintet is made up of Albert on drums, Deb on vocals and rhythm guitar. Lead and rhythm guitar duties are shared by Peter Bohovesky and Billy Hilfiger, with David Hirschberg working the rhythm section on bass. Deb and Albert make up the heart, soul and backbone of this shadowy quintet and share the vocal workload at about 70/30. As for Albert's vocals, pick up any BOC album prior to 1981 and you will know why his quirky, slightly off center voice is beloved by BOC fans around the planet. Deb Frost's vocal abilities shift dramatically in range from the coo of a mother dove to the sound of a cinder block in a stump grinder. She sings you a lullaby and then bites you in the face. Comparable to greats like Dan McCafferty, she is a force to be reckoned with. Deb has obviously worked the kill floor and knows where to deliver the fatal blows.
Aside from the vocal sucker-punches this album delivers, musically, Trepanation is a vast banquet of quality rock & roll. Bouchard driven songs like "My Civilization" and "Happy New Year" are eerie enough that they could have been dropped onto an early BOC album and settled in quite nicely. And like many of BOC albums, Trepanation is a like a horror house filled with dark and sinister delights. As you first go through it, you are never quite sure what is going to leap out at you from around the next corner, and it leaves you gasping and shrieking in delight, ready to take that long walk through it again.
The songs shift back and forth drastically, yet always remain true to the Surgeon's style. Blues based heavies like "Bad Habit", "Ramblin' Rose" and "Stones in my Passway" lets the soul of the band show, while the menacing and diabolic "Sisters of the Precious Blood" and "Medusa" conjure images from a dim and murky pit. Songs like "If U Come Close" provide a lighter fare while the rocking instrumental "Night of the 1,000 Guitars", leaves us wheezing and gasping as if drop kicked in the sternum. It is a cross between BOC's "Cities on Flame" and "Buck's Boogie" delivered straight between the eyes. BOC song writing colleagues Patti Smith, Helen Wheels, and Richard Meltzer add their song writing talents and help flesh out a lyrically rock-solid album.
An obscure band overflowing with creative juices on an obscure label, The Brain Surgeons are the biggest surprise to connect with my bleeding eardrums this year, hell, in many years. Trepanation is one of those rare albums that makes me wish I owned a radio station. Without a word of warning I would drop a song like "Sally" or "Hansel & Gretel" in between two over-played and over-rated "classics", and then sit back and wait for the phones to light up, buzzing and twitching with quality-starved rock & roll carnivores eager to feast on this fresh kill.
Rob "Torgo" Sedler