There’s something special about things coming together and working beautifully despite not having much in common. Simple things we take for granted like peanut butter and jelly, or French fries and ketchup, just work because they’re a staple of our traditions. Then there’s duos a bit more exotic and ambitious like ice cream and bacon. How could something sweet and creamy taste so delicious when teamed up with something smokey and salty is beyond me, but the fundamentals of polar opposites seem to elevate each other. Are you hungry yet? Well I’m not talking about dinner and desert, I’m actually talking about the magic of the split EP from Brother O’ Brother and Veseria, on Romanus and Fonoflo Records.
Side A is “R.O.S.E.” from Brother O Brother, a blistering blues rock track with all the fuzz and charisma of last year’s Show Pony, but now with an extra helping of groove and seduction. I can’t think of any other band of just two people, that work this well together. If you don’t like this song, odds are you don’t like rock n roll.
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Flipping the record over and it’s two tracks from Veseria. If Brother O’ Brother is the bacon, Veseria is the ice cream. Instead of the in your face rock n soul of side A, “And Also” is a fusion jazz flavored jam of tight rhythm and angelic vocals. My favorite track on the split is easily “Hunting Accidents”. Picture late era Dinosaur Jr turning the distortion back alomg with Camp Cope-esque vocals and you’ll have what I call a strong contender for one of my favorite tracks of the entire year.
Chris Banta and Warner Swopes, the duo behind Brother O’ Brother, just might be the hardest working fuzz n roll two-some since Jack and Meg White. Not only do they constantly tour, putting on one of the most entertaining live shows I’ve had the pleasure of seeing in recent years, but they’re also in the record business. As told in my recent interview with Banta ( in which you can read here ), they’re not content with just your run of the mill vinyl, they must go above and beyond and come up with epic variants for their releases. From glow in the dark dinosaur bones, to color combos only seen in acid trips, there’s no other label bringing the creativity like these guys.
Upping the ante on this go around comes the world’s first sand filled record! It’s not just a clunky gimmick either, this sand flows within the EP as if flowing through your hands! It’s limited to only 60 copies so of course it will be an amazing collector’s item. (as it should be!) In addition to that ridiculous sand filled variant, the split is also available in a one-off colored variant, a rainbow variant, as well as a random colored variant. No matter which one you choose (or can get ahold of) everyone wins. You’ll have an extremely collectible vinyl EP but everyone within an ear shot will have three songs that have all the majesty of bacon covered ice cream. Smokey, sweet and delicious.
For more info on Brother O’ Brother, visit their Facebook page
For more info on Veseria, visit their Facebook page
For more info on Fonoflo Records visit Fonoflo.com
To order your copy of the Brother O’ Brother / Veseria Split, please visit Romanus Records Store
