There’s quite a bit of lore surrounding Dayton, Ohio indie band Brainiac. Just as the group had wrapped a tour with Beck, recorded with Kim Deal, John Peel, and Steve Albini, and released three albums (1993’s Smack Bunny Baby, 1994’s Bonsai Superstar, and 1996’s Hissing Pigs In Static Couture), in 1997 lead singer Tim Taylor died suddenly in a horrible car accident, and the band broke up shortly thereafter. In 2019, a documentary called Brainiac: Transmissions After Zero reignited interest in the band, and now, 26 years after Taylor’s death, the surviving members of Brainiac are releasing The Predator Nominate EP, which features nine never-before-heard demos.

“There’s an eight-track reel-to-reel floating around with old recordings, but no one knows where it is,” guitarist John Schmersal told the New York Times. “But Predator Nominate is Brainiac’s last concerted effort, our last complete thought, before the end.”

Brainiac are also set to do a brief tour around the US and UK with Mogwai. Schmersal, who founded Enon and has played with Caribou, Crooks On Tape, and Vertical Scratchers, will handle vocals. “No one understands the nuances of this music like we do,” he also told the New York Times. “If we don’t perform it, you’ll never hear it this way.”

Listen to The Predator Nominate EP below.

TRACKLIST:
01 “Predator Nominate”
02 “Kiss Of The Dog”
03 “Smothered Inside”
04 “The Game”
05 “Going Wrong”
06 “Didn’t Feel”
07 “Gone Away”
08 “Pyramid Theme”
09 “Come With Me”

The Predator Nominate EP is out now via Touch & Go.