Wednesday, February 22nd 2012

News:  Jeff The Brotherhood

Jeff The Brotherhood: Reintroducing Nashville’s Psychedelic Punk Duo

By Jason Shane

If you don’t know about JEFF The Brotherhood yet, you’re missing out on one rock’s most intriguing and powerful acts. A fusion of psychedelia, garage rock and punk, this guitar-and-drum duo has been making noise (both literally and figuratively) since the early 2000’s, and they’ve been gaining momentum since the release of their sixth album We Are The Champions last year.

Comprised of brothers Jake and Jamin Orrall and hailing from Nashville, Tennessee, JEFF The Brotherhood exudes a minimalist, DIY feel that is raw, energetic and, most of all, loud. The band’s sound calls to mind the likes of Sonic Youth, Nirvana, and Queens of the Stone Age, all done with just Jake on vocals and guitar and Jamin on drums.

After putting out four limited release LP’s starting with 2002’s I Like You, the Orrall brothers dropped their first nationally-released studio album in 2009, Heavy Days, followed by We Are The Champions. All of their albums have been under their own label, Infinity Cat Recordings, started with their father, 80’s new wave singer-songwriter-producer Robert Ellis Orrall.

JEFF The Brotherhood’s noise rock sound has evolved from their earliest days (their first album came out when Jake was only 16), and they have honed it into a finely tuned aural assault full of punk and other influences. Check out Hey Friend, the opening song off last year’s breakthrough effort:

Following the release of We Are The Champions last March, near-constant touring, and an appearance on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. JEFF The Brotherhood’s raucous 2011 continued with an appearance on Newermind, SPIN’s compilation celebrating the twentieth anniversary of Nirvana’s seminal album Nevermind, contributing a fuzzy and doom-filled cover of Something In The Way. Their version is tremendous – a great tribute to an underrated song off one of the defining albums in rock history.

Jake and Jamin recently joined The Kills on their 15-date U.S. tour during January and February and are now finishing their seventh album, which they tweeted about earlier this week:

Keep an eye out for more news on JEFF The Brotherhood’s upcoming album and other adventures on their official site, Facebook and Twitter.