A New Album from Poke A Brain

On Love, Resentment & Mortality, Poke A Brain set their sights high. Mortality and resentment aren’t exactly bite-sized themes, but the band moves through them with a scrappy, restless energy across eleven tracks that veer from swampy blues to garage-punk bruisers to smoky ballads. It's a record that feels alive in its unpredictability, stitched together by an off-kilter charisma that sometimes recalls the genre-hopping spirit of Ween.

The album cracks open with “No More,” one of its undeniable standouts. The track rides a sly, low-lit vocal delivery—neither whispered nor shouted, but somewhere lushly in between—and a hook that's deceptively sticky. It's the kind of song that feels tossed-off until it burrows under your skin. The instrumental work, warm and unhurried, gives it the lived-in feel of a band locked in at just the right tempo.

Elsewhere, Poke A Brain flirt with other moods. “Someone Like You” leans into B.B. King-style phrasing, a smoky, blues-drenched number that blossoms midway through into something almost Southern Gothic in its loose, celebratory swing. It’s a testament to the band’s ability to shift gears without feeling like they're trying on costumes.

“Love Is Free” slashes in with a snarling, three-chord punk rush, nodding toward the scuzzy immediacy of early Nirvana or Ty Segall. “Blind Love” deepens the shade, evoking the slow churn of Alice in Chains, while “Tender”—featuring a knockout vocal performance from the band’s female singer—offers a tender, slow-burning ballad steeped in reverb-drenched guitars and an aching sense of release.

Later, “Midlife” emerges as a highlight, its intricate guitar picking and dynamic hooks carving out one of the more emotionally direct moments on the album. “Did It On My Own” turns up the volume, trading in heavier riffs that wouldn’t sound out of place on a Queens of the Stone Age deep cut, while the closer “Temptation” channels a little of Danzig’s brooding bravado without falling into parody.

Love, Resentment & Mortality is a solid album with a couple of real gems. When Poke A Brain hit their stride—as they do on “No More” and several others they nail with precision, emotion and appeal.

SPOTIFY

INSTAGRAM