Brandon Can’t Dance - Graveyard of Good Times

The Guardian 60

(Lucky Number)

Philadelphia native Brandon Ayres, AKA Brandon Can’t Dance, rattles through styles and influences so readily that on first listen this ramshackle, self-produced collection feels like an arch experiment in mimicry. So Deep, So Tortured, So Freak’s Marilyn Manson-isms are gloriously OTT, while A Greyhound Named Chelsea expertly apes Elliott Smith-esque singer-songwriter woes, rhyming the title with “chalice of ecstasy” in a tongue-in-cheek list of basic needs. Obligatory Star Surfing Song, meanwhile, is a Smashing Pumpkins song in all but name. Never overstaying its welcome despite its 16-track length, there are little pockets of unadulterated joy peppered throughout, specifically the buzz guitar-laced opener Headspace, and She Loves Anime’s electro-tinged tale of a boy who draws himself the perfect girlfriend.