Keg Vultures, Bendy Straw Brain Massage and Spiritual Dry Cleaning

Austin’s Keg Vultures are apparently determined to annoy all listeners into submission with their garage-meets-fingernails on a blackboard approach. The merry pranksters of this unit wield their smart-ass bombast like a samurai sword. Bendy Straw Brain… is their second effort for Propeller Records, and I’m guessing it delivers more of the same as the first this time out.

The Vultures manage an interesting start to this recording with “Paranoi-a-Go-Go,” which features a winding, psychedelic guitar solo that runs in and out of a pretty standard garage rock number. Unfortunately for the listener, the entire affair begins to sink rapidly from this point on. In fact, the next few songs sound like drunken fraternity brothers taking turns on a karaoke machine between swigs off the beer bong. All is not lost, though, if you can make it to the seventh track, “Never Understand,” where the Vultures borrow a little from the Butthole Surfers and Zappa for a slow and trippy rocker. Once again, sadly, things begin to circle the drain soon after.

I think the Keg Vultures’ “I don’t give a crap” attitude will be embraced by a specific audience. There are those that prefer this brand of anti-establishment screech over conventional radio oatmeal any day of the week. So with that said, I admire the boys for making this album and I believe that there is a place for it. Think about it — if bands didn’t record and release music like this, what the hell would freshman college radio DJs play on their shows at 2 AM on Tuesday mornings?