BRNDA / Cor de Lux

BRNDA is a four-piece from DC with a few rules: No covers, No love songs. Simple enough, right? Think again. After perusing through the late 70s, 80s, and 2010s for musical detritus, it was discovered that only the least ostentatious, most off-kilter sound is fit for BRNDA. And so, if you find yourself unable to put your finger on just what you’re hearing, it is because BRNDA is not just some rehashed comfort listening.

Since their genesis in 2012, BRNDA has released 3 albums (2014, 2015, 2021) and an EP (2018). One could say that the stream of consciousness featured in 2021's Do You Like Salt? (on Crafted Sounds) is arguably BRNDA’s richest yet.

Above all, BRNDA pulls off an unpredictable and incredibly entertaining sound that can shift between testy art punk, noisy no wave, and groovin’ indie rock at any given moment. Not to mention, there is also a tasteful dusting of saxophone on the record. What is there not to like about all of that in a 10-track, sub-thirty-minute package?

Cor de Lux grew out of the music scene of North Carolina’s Outer Banks. The band found each other during a chance conversation about the love of music between Tim Lusk and Dawn Moraga while Moraga waited for a phone repair in Lusk’s shop. This was the catalyst for the band’s formation, their music: a mixture of post-punk, garage rock and early 2000’s influences.