Brown Stratos – Calculating Is Not The Same As Working Out (2020)
Describing themselves as ‘two 42-year-old idiots making music in a bedroom studio’, you wouldn’t expect too much. Thing is, they’re not as bad as you might think. No Smashing Pumpkins, but worth a look. Using intricate guitar arrangments, unorthodox vocals and unusual time signatures, Brown Stratos is an alt-rock duo from London with some unique characteristics.
Releasing their debut album Calculating Is Not The Same As Working Out in May 2020, this London-based duo have started making their mark on the indie rock scene. Long-time friends from Yorkshire, the gents listened to similar music in their youth. As they became older, Tom Stevens (vocals, guitar, drums and bass) and Matt Ford (vocals and guitar) realised life can get in the way of rockstar dreams, but that doesn’t mean you can’t still make some amazing music in your spare time…and that’s what they did.
Using their life experience and knowledge (apparently you become wiser with age), Ford and Stevens created a complex four-track EP. Lyrically, Calculating Is Not The Same As Working Out is a philosophical album navigating life’s perplexities with a rock and roll beat. The melody is just as complex with some unconventional time signatures and blending genres.
Unlike some albums that seem to have the same song over and over again on a single album, Brown Stratos gives each track a distinct signature. It begins with ‘Calculating Is Not The Same As Working Out’ which is the longest on the EP coming in at six minutes. Introducing themselves with an early Weezer-esque sound, this track can fit easily in a playlist of 1990s pop-rock bands. They have you bopping your head, so what’s next?
‘110% of Nothing Is Still Something’ lulls you into your comfort zone with the wistful lyrics and softer beginning, but don’t get too comfy. Midway through the track, powerful guitar riffs take over and you see the ‘rockier’ side to Brown Stratos.
The final two tracks move from Pixies and Blind Melon to Jimmy Eat World and Foo Fighters. Bold, brash and boisterous, Ford and Stevens let their hair down with heavy guitar riffs, strong drums and an interesting combination of the two male vocals. I find the movement of lead vocals from one singer to the next very enjoyable. Unlike the first two tracks, ‘If Less Is More, Imagine How Much More More Would Be’ and ‘A Metaphor Is A Simile, A Simile Is Like A Metaphor’ blast your ears with their oomph – they could easily be summer anthems played from the main stage at Glastonbury.
Calculating Is Not The Same As Working Out ends with the lyric, ‘not all good things come to an end’ – it’s safe to say that Brown Stratos is a good thing and we hope they don’t come to an end too soon.
For more from Brown Stratos, check out their Spotify, Facebook and Bandcamp. The tracks can also be found on our MAY 2020 PLAYLIST!
