WORTH IT by Be Brave Bold Robot

Album Review by Andy Singer, Self-Appointed Music Critic, and World Famous Illustrator at andysinger.com ::

"I finally listened to the new BBBR album/collection, some of it while
lying on the floor on my stomach, some of it in front of my laptop computer. Congratulations on another excellent sonic creation!!!! Here’s
my first reactions after two listens—

“Bit of Each Other” is the perfect opening tune …and a super nice mix and performance of it— lead guitar and backing vocals especially.

“Green Box” is a nice segue to…

“Sacramento”— an excellent, nice, slow version of it. Love the piano and rap interlude. I could picture you all performing this at an Athletics
Major League baseball game, before or after the National Anthem, and
bringing the house down. But alas, the Athletic’s owner John Fisher is a
Major League Asshole and refuses to promote the city of Sacramento with his team or take pride in the fact that he’ll be playing in that city for
at least 4 years before going to Vegas. So maybe perform it at a Kings
Game …but somehow the song lends itself to being played outdoors in some kinda outdoor stadium venue. SACRAMENTO! STATE CAPITOL! RIVER CITY! CALIFORNIA! GUITAR SOLO!!!! MUTHERFUCKERS!!!!!

“In the Backyard” is great little segment with the talk show hosts talk
bracketing it. But I could see expanding this song with more verses cause backyards are awesome and full of material. What radioshow/podcast was this? Or did you make it up?

“The New Happy Birthday Song” I’ve heard before but love that the
explanation of the song is part of the song.

“Welcome to 40” is GREAT! Nice guitar solo, percussion solo, and nice mix of backing vocals, violin and general recording/arrangement!!!! Love the spacey interlude in the middle …and, like many BBBR songs, I like how it’s a kind of a symphony with different movements and vibes that doesn’t end the way it began.

“Chess How To” is great, but like “In the Backyard”, you could expand this one with a couple more verses cause it’s chess. Maybe structure it around an imaginary game with your listener.

Same with “I don’t remember last night”. With a few more verses this would be an national anthem! This song describes the United States of America after each war or presidential administration.

“Cosmic Family Gatherings” is GREAT! Perfect!!! Goes great with “Bit of
Each Other”. Wonderful arrangement/recording.

“we are the 99 percent” is great too. Again, you could add another verse
or two (about arresting people without warrants, or crushing free speech, Giving massive tax cuts to the 1%, or sending weapons to kill other people overseas) and it would become a major political anthem.

“Worth It” is GREAT! …a great song and great version of that song.
Beautiful musical arrangement and backup vocals. Again, goes great with “Cosmic Family Gatherings” and “Bit of Each Other.”

“Dead to me” is a good segue. I love the music and lyrics …but, like some of the other short idea tunes on this collection, you could add another verse or two and it would be a great/complete song.

“Carly Duhain’s Kite Song” is beautiful. Did you write it? Or is it a
cover? Beautifully done. You and the female vocalist sound great together in this song (and in others)-- a creative blend of voices/harmonies.

“Be Brave Bold Babbelfish” reminds me of ”Arigato Mister Brave Bold
Roboto” (Styx variation). It’s a nice piece of mixology. I like the mashup
of voice messages as some kinda statement on the babbling blur of life.
“My dress has pockets” bit is an important statement on women’s liberation …but we also need more pockets on women’s pants so my wife isn’t
constantly misplacing her phone, keys or wallet. Maybe the lack of pockets on women’s clothing is a conspiracy to mire them in disorganization and confusion? Although, I have lots of pockets and have a hard time figuring out which pocket I put a given thing in. Maybe the lack of pockets is why
women are smarter than men? Makes me think of a New Yorker cartoon where a guy is asking a woman “Could you put my anvil in your purse when we go out”? The church choir “Cosmic Family” refrain is great. What’s that from?
What’s it all mean?
I should write you a song “Welcome to 60”. I’ll work on it when I turn 60 (in a couple weeks).

You’re the greatest. I wish I was in California right now, walking around,
listening to music, slightly inebriated, eating burritos, smoking a cigarette or two, taking in the sunshine. It’s 27 degrees here, dark, with
snow and ice on the ground. I’m holed up inside, trying to work myself up to drawing something, like an older dog going around in circles before I finally lay down and get into it. If I make it, I’ll text you a photo of
what I made."

"...you're the most creative lyricist in town, perhaps in California, perhaps in the English speaking world. you have humor and trouble all intertwined. very good stuff."
-- Gabe Nelson (Bassist of "Cake")

"There are few occasions when you hear a band for the first time and know implicitly that you are going to love everything that they do. This is one of those bands."
- daydream nation.com

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