250 Miles Lucky Dutch Broke Down Radio Moscow reupload

audio fixed
250 Miles Album: Brain Cycles (2009) track 6
Lucky Dutch Album: Radio Moscow (2007)
Broke Down Album: Brain Cycles (2009) track 2
by Radio Moscow

Prior to the formation of the band, Parker Griggs recorded under the solo alias Garbage Composal. After completing an album's worth of material, Griggs enlisted bassist Serana Rose to form Radio Moscow, and the duo relocated to Colorado. Following a show, Griggs got a demo into the hands of The Black Keys frontman Dan Auerbach, who then helped in getting Radio Moscow signed to Alive Naturalsound Records. During this time, Parker recorded the contents of 3 & 3 Quarters which was eventually released in 2012 under Radio Moscow. The album is predominantly Garage Rock, with all instruments handled by Griggs.

Upon returning to Iowa, Luke McDuff was brought in as the new bassist of the group. They recorded the band's self titled debut album in 2006, with Auerbach handling production duties; Radio Moscow was released in February 2007. Shortly after the release of the album, McDuff was replaced by Zach Anderson.

Lucky Dutch is Track 3

Brain Cycles is the second studio album released on April 14, 2009, it was the band's first album to feature bassist Zach Anderson, who replaced Luke McDuff in 2007. Issued by Alive Naturalsound, it was recorded at Sound Farm in Jamaica, Iowa and produced by band members Parker Griggs and Anderson.

In an interview with The A.V. Club, frontman Griggs explained that "The first album Radio Moscow was written all-instrumental, and the singing was just sort of [an afterthought] ... This album was written more with the vocals in mind." On the subject of self-producing the album, Griggs noted that "I wanted to use the tape again and try to get an old-school sound ... [and] this time around I just tried to give it my all and be more comfortable with that." The frontman also noted that "We recorded this [album] at Sound Farm in Jamaica, [Iowa] instead of Ohio this time. We put a lot more time into it and really focused on the mix to give it a kind of classic psychedelic feel. It's still real bluesy but we tried to make it more psychedelic than the last one."

In a press release for the album, Radio Moscow compared Brain Cycles to such psychedelic artists as Randy Holden (of Blue Cheer), The Groundhogs, Peter Green (of Fleetwood Mac) and the Flower Travellin' Band. Writing for music website AllMusic, critic Mark Deming proposed that "Radio Moscow's second album strongly establishes its stoner credentials even before you've given it a listen, and the music doesn't disappoint if you're hoping for a gloriously resinous musical experience."[5] Deming compares Brain Cycles to psychedelic blues-rock of the 1960s and 1970s, suggesting similarities to the bands Cream and Blue Cheer and noting the latter's album Outsideinside as possible inspiration for the record.

Deming's AllMusic review is generally positive, although he does conclude that "Brain Cycles is undercut by songs that aren't as impressive as the band playing them; for every number like the hard boogieing "City Lights" and the frantic wail of "Just Don't Know," there's another that sounds like a tune you'd skip over to get to one of the really good cuts ... They just don't make records like Brain Cycles anymore, and while most of the album suggests that's too bad, a few cuts demonstrate why folks stopped doing this back in the day." The album has received praise for frontman Griggs's vocal work, the added cohesiveness of the rhythm section, and the more sophisticated songwriting. Many critics have also noted that Brain Cycles is an improvement on the band's debut album Radio Moscow.