Brain F≠

By way of regional-band selling points, Brain F≠ (“It’s pronounced ‘Flannel’,” they insist) is well-stocked. The Charlotte quartet boasts members who’ve played in some of Charlotte’s best bands: Bassist Eddie Schneider drums with posi-core jam-punks Yardwork. Drummer Bobby Michaud commanded the drum stool for the gone-too-soon noise-rock juggernaut Grids, and has, of late, been doing likewise for Raleigh punk superheroes Double Negative. Guitarist Nick Goode plies his anxiety-ridden power-chords for the promising Charlotte hardcore band Joint Damage and the Raleigh-Charlotte stalwarts Logic Problem. But Brain F≠—which also claims frontwoman Elise Anderson for itself—is more than just a checklist of great Tar Heel punk bands. Brain F≠ stands on its own.

Anderson and Goode sing together as if they’d rehearsed separately, creating a captivating chaos. On the band’s 2010 singles, Restraining Order and So Dim, he favors an insistent, sneering delivery; she presents a deadpan not unlike Kim Gordon’s stoic-cool. Together, they’re a frazzled John Doe and Exene, with chemistry every bit as compelling as the X. Goode’s frayed, treble-heavy guitars unspool into a noisy sheet that fills the room like fiberglass insulation. Michaud and Schneider lock into buoyant grooves, cutting Goode’s noise with pogo-ready rhythms. But the vocals, as low in the mix as they can be, are Brain F≠’s consistent highlight. That’s still true of the band’s stunning long-player, Sleep Rough. Ironically a bit smoother than the preceding singles, Rough shows a more developed sense of melody and texture in Brain F≠’s songs. Anderson’s vocals are more confident, earns their place at the front of the mix. On “Seawall Sea,” Michaud and Schneider spill an avalanche of low-end behind Goode’s scratchy six-string; Anderson, for her part, sounds as if she’s in complete control, positively unperturbed by the cyclone roaring behind her.

But there’s no reason Anderson——or her bandmates—should sound anything less than commanding. As volatile as Brain F≠ sounds, it’s a well-studied band, too. Brain F≠’s members don’t hide from their expansive punk and garage collections. One could almost describe Brain F≠ with a list of bands you might also like—The Hunches, Functional Blackouts, TV Ghost, The Avengers—stretching ad infinitum. But listing sounds-alikes doesn’t capture Brain F≠’s synthesis, just like naming the other great bands its members have been a part of doesn’t adequately capture Brain F≠’s own greatness. —Bryan Reed