Charlotte punk quartet Brain F≠’s second album, Empty Set, is coming soon—finally. The LP’s first single, “Sailor Swim,” showed up on Bandcamp back in July, with the promise of a summertime album release.
Now, half a year later, the album is ready at last. The Sorry State label, which will co-release the record with Richmond’s Grave Mistake (Coke Bust, Night Birds, Big Eyes), posted the cover art today after teasing the impending release in the label’s monthly newsletter.
Sorry State head honcho Daniel Lupton writes, “Things continue to be relatively quiet on the label front, but we do have a new release planned for January: the second Brain F≠ LP, Empty Set, should finally be out this month! We just finally finished the artwork and the vinyl has been pressed already, so barring any last-minute weirdness this should be available for you to order in the next couple of weeks. I couldn’t be more excited about this record… I like it even more than their great first LP. Watch your favorite web sites for some preview streams over the next couple of weeks, as Alex at Grave Mistake (with whom I’m co-releasing the record) and I are keeping this one close to our chests until the release date.”
In 2011, Brain F≠ released its full-length debut, Sleep Rough, to great acclaim in punk circles. But as the band’s profile grew, its members dispersed and took on new projects. Most notably, drummer Bobby Michaud briefly joined Double Negative in Raleigh, and now plays with Wymyns Prysyn in Atlanta, while guitarist Nick Goode leads Joint D≠, whose great second album, Satan Is Real Again, Again, or: Feeling Good About Feeling Good About Bad Thoughts, was a highlight of 2013.
While the effectively defunct Brain F≠ managed to piece together this anticipated follow-up album, the band hasn’t indicated any tour plans. Here’s hoping Empty Set doesn’t prove to be a posthumous release.
