Pray for Brain, None of the Above (indie)
A Review

Album cover, with artwork by bassist Christine Nelson.

Fair warning number one: the music on the premiere release from Pray for Brain, featuring Mustafa Stefan Dill (guitars, oud), Christine Nelson (bass), and Jefferson Voorhees (drums, percussion), may induce you to dance naked in the backyard and howl at the moon.

That may also be a good way to describe the genre of music the trio writes and plays.
Arabilly, indofunk, sufisurf, and countryeastern—terms the group has coined in an attempt to convey what they do—don’t quite cover it.

It’s easier to say what it isn’t. It’s not power-trio rock, surf music, or funk. It’s not Sufi devotional music, bhangra, or jazz. It’s not bluegrass, jam band, or flamenco. In fact, as the title says, it’s None of the Above, but it does incorporate
elements from all of the above, sometimes within the same song. It’s an ecstatic dance party perfumed with coriander. Continue reading →