I’ll be honest, I don’t share a lot of beat tapes on these pages, though I am something of a secret fan of them when not writing for York Calling. That’s all about to change thanks to the new one from Braniac [The Archive].

By Graeme Smith

Bitter Work has something about it that means I feel it deserves wider attention. It’s a brief collection consisting of nine tracks all about a minute long, so it’s over before you know it, but the complexity of the compositions means it feels a lot more than its runtime, and they demand multiple listens.

The title refers to the struggle of balancing work with music and it’s a sentiment that recurs in the arrangements on Bitter Work. You can hear the passion that Brainiac has for his music, but also his frustration at having to fit it around the demands of a job. We get shades of light and dark in a series of meditations constructed of samples cleared through Tracklib.

Opening with the moody Labor_Pains_ we get an immediate sense of conflict as bass beats wrestle with distorted high notes. I wish_ brings with it some lightness and snatches of vocals in a hopeful composition before Anemic_Symptoms introduces a strong sense of soul. Barely_Making_it rounds off the early running with a glitched and pleading highlight.

3:32 AM is as dark and atmospheric as the time of night to which its title refers while I_Feel_Exhausted is slow and world-weary. Title track Bitter Work_ bristles with the hustle and bustle of the world through hard-hitting percussion and jazzy keys. Big Debt_ Small Checks_ is perhaps the EP’s liveliest moment before It Is _What_ It Is closes things with a shuffling sense of head-shaking acceptance.

Bitter Work is available to buy now as a digital download through Bandcamp. You can check it out below.