Arts & Entertainment
 

'Brothers' relax again

By Bridget Brown
The Daily Cougar

Right before the post-punk cult rock icons of the 1990s The Toadies called it quits, a legion of fans swarmed to see the band during its farewell tour in Houston at Verizon Wireless Theatre in December 2002.

It was obvious the band was bogged down by its major-label squabbling. Frontman Vaden Todd Lewis seemed to have lost the intensity that propelled the band in its younger years. There was no more preaching to the crowd or thrown up hands, just an audience overrun by meatheads and a band that looked tired.

It was obvious what had to happen.

Before the band's breakup in 2002, Lewis was disappointed with the business end of making music. He moved back to his native Dallas, where he hooked up with longtime friend Taz Bently, former drummer of the Reverend Horton Heat, to start a no-strings-attached band — The Burden Brothers — which allowed Lewis the creative space he needed.

Born in 2000 out of the members' mutual frustration with the music industry, the group enlisted including Casey Orr of Ministry and GWAR and former Soundgarden members Matt Cameron and Kim Thayil. 

But don't call The Burden Brothers a super-group. After the time the guys spent having serious music careers, it was wise to just have fun with experimenting. The band put out two EPs in a short time without any approval from a record label. Word of mouth left a growing fan base anticipating more, so the group found a record label with the flexibility it needed, Trauma Records, and it decided to release a full-length album. 

Buried in Your Black Heart is a perfect, straightforward debut album. Co-written and produced by Bently and Lewis, the songs are filled with ragged emotion.

The band's broad musical talent and interests make it hard to place Buried in Your Black Heart in a single genre. Lewis' evangelistic style, inspired by his Baptist upbringing, is reborn during songs like "Shadow" and "You're So God Damn Beautiful."

It seems the corporate mania and nonstop touring Lewis was trying to escape after The Toadies may be headed his way again. If not, at least The Burden Brothers gave us a taste of what happens when recognized artists kick back and make music without the hype.

The Burden Brothers

Buried in Your Black Heart

Trauma Records

The verdict: Take a clue from Lewis and give up on major record labels.
 Send comments to dcshobiz@mail.uh.edu