Written by: Oliver Heffron

Brainstory’s unique brand of psychedelic, jazzy soul paints a picture of a sunny afternoon where time pleasantly undulates with the cool breeze through the yard. This LA-based trio creates music that’s easy on the ears yet rewarding to the mind. Hailing from Rialto, CA, Brainstory consists of brothers Kevin and Tony Martin on guitar and bass (both vocals) and their longtime friend Eric Hagstrom on the drums. They’ve been crafting their unique sound since long before shows or albums were thought, and the trio’s dedication is starting to pay off. 

Brainstory’s latest album, Sounds Good, showcases the band’s polished and versatile songwriting and production as they master their original infectious, indie-soul identity while exploring new territories.  Tracks like “XFaded” and “Peach Optimo” evince the saturated sweetness of a nostalgic suburban memory with funky, laid-back odes to slow, stoned cul-de-sac memories, while “Too Yung” takes a stripped-back, Dylan-esque folk approach and “Gift of Life” sees singer Kevin Martin singing falsetto of classic soul groups like The Delfonics. Four years since their debut release, Sounds Good is the product of patience, passion, and years of love. 

The members of Brainstory caught up with NUANCE to discuss the band’s organic origin, producing their new album, and their current tour. 

Growing up in the Inland Empire, the Martin brothers and Hagstrom met as jazz musicians playing local shows and attending a performance-focused music school. They soon bonded in their shared passion for heady music and frequent jam sessions. Discussing their suburban hometown, Tony Martin describes how it influenced the band’s distinct sound: 

“There’s not really much opportunity for musicians or artists in general. So you kind of have to make your own. And so there’s a lot of DIY going on. And I think when you have a foundation and DIY, you have more of a personal relationship to art in general and you’re not looking at as, like people who have quote unquote “made it,” or celebrities as a template because there’s not those people around. So it kind of comes from a little bit more of a personal place. And I think that’s why we have our sound. And why our sound maybe might be a little bit unique to the average listener.”

Reflecting on the band’s progression since their 2019 debut, Buck, Kevin Martin describes how it feels they’ve finally caught up to themselves through years of touring and recording leading up to Sounds Good: “I feel like our sound has finally grown into kind of a mature place where we’re all confident. And I think that’s what really rings true in the whole record: we’re confident in different styles and different things. And I think that also just kind of plays off of us being more confident in the studio.”

Speaking on that confidence in the studio, Brainstory’s members are quick to credit the extended members of the band behind the boards: producer Leon Michels and Kevin describes their close relationship with producer Leon Michels, who also co-owns Big Crown, saying, “We love hanging out with him. He’s just like another band member. He’s cool to be around and he gently directs us in the right in the right direction.” Kevin adds, “He’s good at reining us in and kind of just getting at the essential of what we’re doing.” On the importance of their engineer Jens Jungkurth, Kevin explains, “He understands the setup sentiment of every song because he’s there for almost all the tracking and you know, he’s he’s definitely as an engineer as invested in the love and care of the record as all of us are.”

Thinking back on some of their favorite memories of recording the album, Tony recalls the emotional production of “Too Yung:” “So, a lot of time we’ll record we will do like the instrumental together, and and then Kevin will do the vocals after. But when we recorded “Too Yung,” Kevin did it live–singing in the room so I could hear the lyrics..and when we got done, I started crying. We we’re all just very emotional.” 

Kevin points to the recording of “Peach Optimo,” remembering how the track came together almost by accident: “It was originally just like, kind of intended to be an instrumental, but when we recorded that, we had Leon on piano, and we just kind of tightened up the arrangement, and we played one take and it felt really good. Oddly, we had been playing the song repeatedly, just like, well, the engineer was getting ready and getting all the sounds right, and then we hit record. Something happened, we don’t really know even to this day…we just heard the playback and were just like: this sounds like all the like kind of like soul funk jazz stuff–Gene Harris, or you know, Donald Byrd kind of deep groove but very jazzy kind of thing.” “We were like, wow, that was crazy.” Eric adds, “It was like damn. We did that in one take.”  

Now getting to perform their new music across the country before going to Europe to open for Lady Wray, Kevin shares how exciting it’s been to share the album with their growing fanbase:

“People have been living with the music, so people a lot of people have been coming to and knowing the material and sometimes singing along so great. “Hanging On” does really well with the crowd. “Too Yung” does pretty well too, which is kind of like our little curveball. But yeah, they’ve all been really fun and I think, well received.”

As Brainstory looks to the rest of their national tour before embarking on a European opening for longtime supporter Lady Wray and continues to book new shows across the globe, Eric has a message for anybody who thinks Sounds Good sounds good: “We’re going to be playing as many places as we can, so look out for us in your city.”