Shrine by Xavier
The Bran Flakes are an American-Canadian sound collage duo that have been around since the early 90s. They consist of two members: Mildred Pitt (also known as Andy Arkley) from Seattle, Washington, and Otis Fodder from Quebec, Canada. Here's one of my favorite fucking music artists ever; definitely a second to the Residents.
I shall now talk about most of the Bran Flakes' work because this ain't the Residents so this is doable in reasonable time. Btw, Huh is not here for this one. They don't care about the Bran Flakes as much as I do.
This is my favorite Bran Flakes album. This album isn't their first album (I'll talk about their earliest/earlier albums later), for clarification.
Fave Tracks: Call Me Patches, Let it Be a Nightmare, (I Give Myself) That Girl, Step by Step, Welcome to the Human Race, The Intoxicating Reverbasia Lot, I'm Angry (And I'm Mister Rodgers)
Their first studio album I think.
Fave Tracks: The Music from Another Planet, Cinder, Speak to Me Through Your Shoes, This Sound, L'inverno, You can be My Monkey, One Coordinate at a Time, Follow the Groove Modulations, Collage Collage
I know I said I Remember When I Break Down was my favorite album of theirs, but OH MY GOD this one's also my all time fave. It's so hard to choose between these two albums!
Fave Tracks: Close but not it, Dear Mom and Dad, Brilliant Pillows, Strawberry Cheer, The Magical Fairy Princess, A Musical Computer, Turn the Channel it's Another Commercial, Lovely Sleigh Ride, Funny Funny, Give Yourself a Stereo Check-Out, Galatic Mason, I Will Melt Them, Feelings
First album I got physically!
Fave Tracks: Autumn, Mr. Snuggles, Champagne Music, An Electric Cantata (for Raymond), Apples, Intermission Breakdown, If She Was a Spy, Perversion for Profit, Sentimental Soliloquy, I'm a Little Horse, In the Final Hours There was a Frying Pan
neat thing about this albums is never got a physical release; it's only available digitally!
Fave Tracks: Squishing Sniffy, Artists Busted!, Countdown to the End (Choo Choo Mix), Once you Understand, Playlist and a Sunbeam
The first Bran Flakes album I ever heard, so I got nostalgia for this one lol. Much more brief than the typical Bran Flakes album and is full of many bouncy, playful, and silly tracks. It is a very approachable album, though I think I Don't Have a Friend is a better introductory album as it gives a sampling of Bran Flakes' tonal range.
Fave Tracks: Hi, Rodeo Butterfly, Don Knotts, The Girl that I Used to Be, You Can Do Most Anything, Mr and Mrs Footsie, I Comb My Hair Sideways, Van Pop, The Crickets Ditty, Sunshine Country, I Have a Friend
One mysterious as fuck album. I'm very sure this one is lost media. Looking at the cover, it seems like this album was made before Mildred joined, since it only credits Otis Fodder. Honestly this album really unsettles me by the track names alone. "Age of Consent", "Cesspool of Humanity", "The Final Countdown to Extinction"... There's more creepy titles on this album that leave a true sense of fearful curiosity in me. Whatever this album is like, I imagine it's even darker than I Remember When I Break Down.
However, not all of it is lost! The first track, "The Final Countdown to Extinction", has been archived by the radio program "Some Assembly Required", alongside some music made by others. WARNING: A segment of this song features themes of beastiality, so very much listen at your discretion. I don't know the entire context of this segment since it's been a good while since I've listened to it, but from my speculations, it might be connecting to this motif of exploring the dark side of humanity, considering the other track names for this album. Nonetheless, it is fucking nasty and I wouldn't be surprised if the Bran Flakes hopes that the rest of this album never enters the internet or some other outlet.
This one is also quite mysterious, and is also pretty much lost media. From what I recall from a response to an email that my friend got from Otis Fodder (buttermilk@thebranflakes.com I think it is), the Bran Flakes were formerally part of the Subgenius Foundation parody cult and probabaly made this with a couple of friends they made in that group. I say "probably" because I can only remember so much from what this friend told me, and I cannot find the original conversation we had about this in DMs. So yeah, DEFINITELY take this with a side of salt because I'm pretty uncertain about it.
What's also odd about this enigmatic album is that there's credits for keyboards, bass guitar, and vocals on the tracks. This is not totally unheard of for the Bran Flakes, since I believe that "The Girl That I Used to Be" had original drumming done for it (also take this with a pinch of salt as well since I don't remember where I heard this, and the discogs page for the album doesn't list any drum credits), but this is still very odd. It only raises even more curiosity for what this album sounds like.
A year or two ago, I did some digging for this album and eventually found this. It's not really much, but it's crazy to think that this album was broadcasted on radio. Insane stuff.
UPDATE: The Bran Flakes have reposted this album to archive.org! At long last!
Following the tonal trend with most Bran Flakes albums, this one is quite dark. Typically, this darkness is represented with a more graphic subject matter (such as the incest sample in I Remember When I Break Down), but it is much more vague in this album. Most tracks are much longer in length and lower in energy. It's not a sound they often delve in with albums beyond this one, so it really stands out. Despite its distinctiveness, it still has moments of that classic, child-like Bran Flakes humor. I am very fond of the approach this album takes; it has much more sublety compared to I Remember When I Break Down, though that album has a special place in my heart. I enjoy the style of modern Bran Flakes works regardless, but I am someone who hankers strongly for some of the dark, frightening energy of these older albums. Whether it's subtle or not, it has a lot of thematic punch and create a more vulnerable listening experience. Sometimes my mind sounds like a Bran Flakes album--jumping from place to place, from conclusion to conclusion, sometimes skeetering into sharp, inverted corners that I may or may not enjoy crashing into. Their musical approach reminds of my experiences of being neurodivergent and mentally ill, and I hope that I'm not the only one who finds enlightenment in the darkness that groups such as the Bran Flakes depict.
Fave Tracks: Wheel, Foghorn, Memory, Pain
*WARNING: the Scrump page can be very loud, specifically when you hover over the center logo. Also not every flash file doesn't seem to work, but most of them do.
