by Jon Shina (@___flower___sounds___)
A 90s relic, The Predator Nominate EP was a testament to what could have been. These sonically chaotic demos would have been part of a fourth full length album from a band that was about to break into the mainstream. Brainiac, who unabashedly and proudly hailed from Dayton, Ohio, had three previous albums with both Touch and Go and Grass Records. With high energy live performances, an original futuristic sound, and a charismatic mad man of a lead vocalist named Tim Taylor (later renamed “Timmy” due to the popularization of Tim “The Tool Man” Taylor from the 90s sitcom Home Improvement), Brainiac was on a trajectory to be a household name like Beck or the Beastie Boys. Brainiac signed to major label Interscope Records in 1997, which at the time was home to Nine Inch Nails, Marilyn Manson, and even Limp Bizkit.
Within a week of signing to Interscope, a horrible tragedy had taken place. Front man Tim Taylor drove a twenty year old Mercedes Benz with a completely rusted out trunk which was seeping exhaust into the cab of his car. Tim, over time, was slowly suffering from Carbon Monoxide poisoning from this exhaust. On the morning of May 23rd 1997, Tim was over exposed from the Carbon Monoxide leak, and he crashed his car which burst into flames with him inside. Tim Taylor sadly died at the age of 28, and Brainiac disbanded shortly after.
What The Predator Nominate EP leaves us with is a glimpse into the “what if” of a possible influential 90s band. Brainiac was unique and original in their own right, sounding completely different from any of their contemporaries during their time. 1997 was the height of pop and boy bands bands such as Hanson, The Spice Girls, and *NYSNC, and was also a breakout year for nu metal heavy hitters like Korn and the Deftones. One of the main things that sets Brainiac apart from their contemporaries is their early use of synthesizers, as heard on the tracks of The Predator Nominate EP. Tim Taylor’s vocals were also an outlier. Between his screams and whelps, Tim often manipulated and distorted his voice, going off more moods and vibes than audible lyrics or conventional singing.
The track “Smothered Inside” takes a clearer look into the more pop and accessible side of Brainiac. The band wasn’t all noise and energy, and they were also capable of writing a straightforward mood heavy pop song. All three of Brainiac’s previous albums were recorded with producer Eli Janney from the band Girls Against Boys. Janney allowed Brainiac to explore their noisier, harsher, and darker impulses. With the signing to Interscope, it is possible we would have seen the major label push Brainiac into working with a more polished and accessible producer, like a Dave Fridmann, and maybe a song like “The Game” would have sounded attuned to something more closely resembling Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots? After all, these tracks are unfinished ideas from a totally unique and outsider band that sounded like nothing else on the radio at that time.
While playing these “what ifs” and “what could have been” for Brainiac, their sound was not just a heavy cacophony of noisy guitars, but they also had one foot in the synth world, with Taylor often playing the Moog while performing live onstage. Brainiac’s vocal stylings and synth noise compositions could easily be interpreted as a proto-hyperpop act, but perhaps this take could be too profane to their original Gen X fans. All and all, The Predator Nominate EP has cemented Brainiac’s post credits cinematic place in indie rock history.