Customer Reviews

Brainbloodvolume

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Ignore Jim DeRogatis, most do.
That is why he writes for the Sun Times.

This final Ned's album is their best, and most honest work.
If Ned's happens to sound fatigued, as DeRogatis states, it is only because they very much were at this point of their careers.
I highly recommend this album for any post-punk music lovers.
While you're at it, buy some Babyland, too.

Vortis sucks.

This is Ned's at their heavy rockin' best! If there ever was an album that didn't have any dull tracks it's this one. "All I Ask..." is my favorite song ever! "Traffic" is just as good as the Offspring's "Bad Habit" to crank up in your car while flying down the highway. This band broke up after recording this album and it's a real shame as they were clearly headed in a wonderful new direction. A winner from start to finish and a must for any Ned's fan. The only thing I've heard that sounds better than this classic was when I saw them at The Rave in Milwaukee on their supporting tour of this album. It rocked!!

this is a great final nail in the coffin for an amazing band. Too many bands today put out a hit record, then try and duplicate the same thing for their next couple of releases. Ned's evolved and grew with each album. Bite came out, they were young and getting their feet wet. God Fodder was released, they played as fast and hard as they could. Are You Normal showed growth in their songwriting, creative breaks, they learned how to slow a song down and build it back up again. Then this CD brought in some computers, and showed a band they wanted to evolve to stay fresh. Too bad their label didn't promote them well enough, they began to hate each other, and the narrow-minded fans of God Fodder who wanted a re-hashing of that record didn't get brainbloodvolume.
As a musician, I've always enjoyed discovering artists that were before my time, and I'd think about what was popular at that time, and that would show how much a band was pushing the envelope. If you think about what was on the radio in the mid-90's, and then listen to this record, you will know how far ahead of their time Ned's was.
This CD has the heaviness in All I Ask...., the danciness with a drum machine meshing with live drums in track 3, and the cool poppy slow-fast-slow hit potential of Stuck. If you like diverse styles and sounds, give this CD a shot.
I had the pleasure of seeing Ned's about a dozen times, and they are one of my favorite bands ever. Creativity with the pep, the two really don't exist nowadays, which is quite a shame. Can't even imagine what level they'd be on now if they were still together, it boggles my mind.

Um, that editorial review was a bit tired & silly. What's so teeny bopper about the rhythms???? And by the way, Candlebox was on it's way out of the popular eye by the time these guys were touring in the states...just ignore his useless, inaccurate comments. This is a really good album, & a really good band. I just happened to see them live twice in 1995 (once at a music fest & then again with Sponge) shortly before they broke up the same year. That was also why I got this album, which I listened to a LOT then... & it's still enjoyable. I have noticed this has had very mixed reviews... so mixed that I often see it sharply discounted at record stores. But hey, just cuz it's cheap doesn't mean it's not any good!! Unfortunately, amongst all the other cheapies it gets thrown with, I can imagine people take one look & easily dismiss it without even giving it a chance. I was very surprised to find out these guys were British, cuz they don't sound pigeonholed into just "American" or just "British". In some ways, Bush kinda went in a similar direction with grungy guitar sounds, but these guys also add electronic effects & 2, ya 2, bass guitar players. I think it was this conglomeration of sounds that attracted me to them when I saw them.

The album has ups & downs as far as intensity, but never lets off too much. At the start of the album, you better keep your stereo down or else the first track will blow you away after the first minute. "Floote" has a catchy flute riff... sampled or electronic... & it still rocks as much as the previous. The modern rock single "Stuck" is one of the slowest tracks on the album, so if that's the only one you've heard & you want something that rocks more, just keep listening. There's not anything to skip over, you can just keep driving & jamming. It rocks throughout, & the vocalist never has to scream needlessly, like COUNTLESS other bands. While some bands try to be all loud & distorted or just all mellow without any variance of moods, this mixes it just right. Sure, I like those kinds of bands too, but as far as keeping me interested as a listener, this does it just right for me. I still haven't gotten around to getting the "God Fodder" album, which I know I should have since I like this one so much. Just get this if you're even remotely curious, or need some more good mid-90's rock to add to your collection. Just proof that the 90's has a LOT of hidden rock gems!! *Sigh*, I miss bands with variety.

Granted... Neds were never the coolest of bands, and constantly lived in the shadow of their local contemporaries, namely the Wonderstuff and PWEI! However, they had their niche in the scene! I for one remember annoying my mother by playing the God Fodder album in her car when she picked me up from school (back in the days!!) and loving every off-tune vocal and twin-bass riff!!
When I bought this album on it's initial release I felt that the Neds I had grown to love had lost the plot!
However, over 10 years on, having lost the cd years ago, I still have these tunes buzzing around my head and have just purchased a fantastically reasonably priced replacement!!
Its not as raw and overtly attention seeking teenage angst, as the the previous releases, but it shows a level of maturity never seen before in the band. Kudos to you Mat, Ratt, Alex, Dan and Jon (who just sings!). Long live the voice of irrepressible youth!! Which only begs the question... Where are you now????

Growing up I remember hearing "All I ask..." on the radio, it was an amazing song. I ordered a used copy of it through Amazon, incredibly cheap, I think I paid $2 for it. It was worth it! This is a great band. I've only heard the album twice and it seems to have a real middle 90's ring to it. The drum machines and electronics remind me of the things that others were doing at the time. For $2, it was worth it to load these songs on to my iPod. Oh yeah, online is the only place to find this album these days. I went to all the record stores in Knoxville and couldn't find a copy of this old gem.

This LP rocks! I somehow had my last copy stolen, so I have been looking for this for awhile. Ned's really merge electronic with their branded style of heavy pop, and it sounds as good now, as it did then! It's a shame they never made any records after this, because it seems they were really pushing boundaries at this point. If you are a Ned's fan, I'm sure you have this! If you don't, then get it! Now! If you are a new fan get this too, you won't be steered wrong!

After giving us the distinctive sound of the similar albums "God Fodder" and "Are You Normal?," Ned's Atomic Dustbin expanded their horizons with "Brainbloodvolume," their most ambitious, but least impressive release, in what turned out to be a three-album career. It seems that, for almost every song in "Bbv", the band attempted to break away from their basic style of the past, in one way or another. Although most of the songs start off with a promising riff or unique melody, I just don't think most of them go anywhere, with the exception of three songs: the funky "Premonition," "Stuck" (highly reminiscent of "Selfish" from "God Fodder"),and the humorously titled "Song Eleven can Take Forever." In fact, "Premonition" and Stuck" happen to be amongst my favorite Ned's songs overall (together with "Selfish," "Gray Cell Green," "Happy," "Walking Through Syrup," and "Spring"). "Traffic" isn't bad either, but the rest of the album, to me, is rather ordinary.

It's too bad that Ned's called it quits with this album. I saw them in a small venue in N.Y.C. after its release, and the audience was one of the most enthusiastic and loyal I've ever seen for a relatively obscure band (ask some of your friends if they've ever heard of them). Well, if the three original members of Cream can re-unite, anything's possible.

what a gem. reviews of this record over the years since its release have been mixed at best--critics usually frothy w/ pleasure and fans feeling they were left behind. its taken 3 years for me to appreciate this record, & at this juncture, its my favorite from the neddies. its mature, varied, & it sneaks up on you like that film noir sleeper you saw at 4 in the morning thats now your favorite movie. though its taken 5 years, BBV primed the world for groundswell (jonn penneys new project) lyrically, stylisticly, & critically. dissillusioned Neds fans hopping from AYN to groundswells "corrode" will find a missing piece that must be filled. that piece is BBV.

Not as good as God Fodder or some of the tracks off their earlier ep's and singles, but it sure beats the extremely patchy Are You Normal? (Which still contains some great songs). Definitely well worth a listen if you like pop bands that aren't limited to the one idea but still write catchy tunes. This is by far Ned's most diverse record, and gains much from this. If you liked The Wonderstuff, or to a lesser extent, some of the later Suede material, this could be for you.