Mp3 of the Week: Brain Failure feat. Dicky Barrett

DOWNLOAD: Brain Failure, "Coming Down to Beijing" (mp3)

Yes, BRAIN FAILURE are from Beijing, not Boston, but we’re making an exception for the Clash of mainland-Chinese punk rock, for three reasons: 1) This has been a second home for the group ever since Dropkick Murphys leader Ken Casey took them under his wing — he produced their US debut, American Dreamer, as well as their half of the new Beijing to Boston, a split EP with Big D and the Kids Table; 2) Their label, Japan’s Bad News Records, just opened an office on Newbury Street; 3) If the bark on verses two and three sounds familiar, that’s because it belongs to none other than ex-Bosstone Dicky Barrett, who comes out of retirement to complain that "This place ain’t the same, the bars are foreclosed/My friends live in the suburbs, there’s no good shows." By the end of the song it's still unclear whether Dicky's gonna take 'em up on their offer to hang out in China for a while, but if this punk rock thing doesn't work out, maybe these guys can try their hand at trade diplomacy.

BUY: Brain Failure and Big D & the Kids Table, Beijing to Boston
REVIEW: Chinese Rocks: Brain Failure, January 24, 2004 at the Cambridge Elks