Ben Brown: “Until the Dead Rise”

Everyone’s favorite holiday is rapidly descending upon us, and we’re commemorating the occasion by counting down to All Hallow’s Eve with some of the spookiest stuff the city’s had to offer over the past month or so. And we’ll start with Ben Brown, a decade-and-a-half veteran of the local scene who’s historically shared the spotlight with Austin acts The Savage Poor and No Show Ponies. This side of the pandemic though, the singer-songwriter/multi-instrumentalist/producer’s been plugging away at his eponymous solo project, pushing his bold baritone to the center of attention.

Following up 2021’s Sayonara Sorrow and last Summer’s King of Air, Ben Brown kicked off October with his third album Funky Dracula. Brown’s first full-length foray into seasonal curation, Funky Dracula positions itself as a “horror pop satire”, sinking its teeth into all kinds of subgenres and shadowy figures across nearly a dozen tracks. And we appreciate how well the minimalist drum programming and arrangement complements Ben’s far-from-sincere, in-character lyrical musings.

But that’s not to diminish Ben Brown’s status as an impressive performer; his guitar, synth, and vocals collectively invigorate the energy necessary to resurrect that iconic camp of golden age Hammer Horror throughout Funky Dracula. Don’t believe us? Stir your most ghoulish spirits with one of the LP’s centerpieces, “Until the Dead Rise” and see how these tunes extend past mere novelty and enter the annals of legitimately catchy pop-rock Halloween anthems like “Werewolves of London” and “Dead Man’s Party”.

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