SHREWD, BRITANNIA [director's cut]
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 album tackles the story of eric tunglsson, the son of the auslander, and 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, drawing parallels between the rise of artificial intelligence in the twenty-first century and contrasting the phenomenon to the industrial revolution and its effect on musical compositions of the time
on the 10th of december, 2025, the band released a director’s cut of the album: taking the form of one long, continuous videos this version condensed the album’s narrative to highlight eric tunglsson’s personal journey in a focused way