Ben Sommer :: Super Brain

Agit-popster…er, progster…Ben Sommer is back with his Super Brain. Picking up where amerca’d left off in some ways, and taking it some places new, Super Brain brings the heavier prog leanings (late Crimson, even some ghostly Brand X to these ears) to the forefront without leaving Sommer’s skewed pop-leanings behind. There’s more ornamentation and eclectic prog touches on Super Brain that, while seemingly more complex, give Sommer’s mission a sharper focus. The social and political commentaries still abound, but there’s a bigger emphasis on the music over the content this time around (though titles like Consumerism, Militarism and Cadaverism might say otherwise. Fully intended I’m sure…). Sommer’s humor isn’t lost in the prog fog (I Married a Prostitute, Cloaca Maxima) as is often the case, but it hits harder this time around, even though the focus is more on the prog and experimental metal than the prose. Still waving his punkish-prog flag high, Super Brain’s humor is still more sarcastic than snotty and the pop leanings come across as genuine rather than ironic. Marrying prog and pop is a hard sell, often resulting in the watering down of both. Sommer keeps it short and tight, dodging musical and lyrical bloat, but keeping heft through a thicker and punchier production. Eggheadish? He’s a self-professed one, but one that is aware that when pointing that finger there are still a few pointing at himself.

Dark Gray Matter :: Ben Sommer :: Super Brain (2011, Ben Sommer)