SHREWD, BRITANNIA
SHREWD, BRITANNIA is the third studio album by london band BRAIN APE
released on may 9th, 2025, the album was written by jacob powell, minky très-vain, and sol alex albret, between 2019 and 2025, and was recorded largely on très-vain’s narrowboat studio in london’s limehouse
musically the album was a departure from the band’s old sound, taking inspiration from pop and hip-hop artists like billie eilish, childish gambino, and denzel curry, whilst retaining several qualities from BRAIN APE’s usual list of influences like david bowie, nirvana, and steak number eight
the songs on the album each tackle a singular act in the five act story of eric tunglsson, the son of the auslander, which aims to dissect themes such as nationalism, drug addiction, ego and ego-death, war, history, legacy, and accountability
lyrically the album addresses its themes both head-on and through a more layered approach, and example of which being the lengthy monologue in II. QUARRELS’ CONSEQUENCE which draws parallels between the album’s subject matters and the rise of artificial intelligence in the twenty-first century by comparing and contrasting the phenomenon to the industry revolution and its effect on musical compositions of the time