Jeff the Brotherhood – Wasted on the Dream

Buffy’s Underground Club

Jeff the Brotherhood’s Wasted on the Dream is following the current trend in both fashion and music to return to the 90s. With head banging grunge rock notes, Jeff the Brotherhood is reminiscent of Nirvana or any band that would play at the underground club in Buffy The Vampire Slayer.

This album is heavily riff led. The intro or repeating guitar riffs are the continuous anchors in each song. There are also some clear connections to classic metal chart toppers. The intro power chords of “Voyage Into Dreams” is a catchy ode to Black Sabbath’s “Paranoid,” while the riff in “Melting Place” is slightly similar to the infamous “Iron Man.” “Mystified Minds” starts out more ambient, but then transitions into a modern rock riff that’s more upbeat and bass heavy like the Red Hot Chili Peppers. “Black Cherry Pie” is much darker, with a predominant minor chord progression, which is juxtaposed by a pan flute solo. “In My Dreams” is a standout track featuring a female on lead vocals, which creates a really nice balance as a duet with the male vocals.

Overall, the album plays around with metal. Some songs seem to walk the line with what has been normally seen in 80s and 90s metal. The first half of the album follows the formula of angry lyrics accompanied with distorted guitar solos. They aren’t necessarily nuanced or poetic, but they are raw and direct to the point. The second half of the album allows for more experimentation with the composition. “Prarie Song,” “In My Dreams” and “Coat Check Girl,” from the latter half of the album, contain more cutesy lyrics, in the style of Weezer or the Plain White T’s. This allows for more contrast with the prominent heavy metal guitar that doesn’t stray from the roots of metal.

Wasted on the Dream is far from ubiquitous and is an interesting take on a genre that has been neglected from a revamp in the past decade.