The Bran Flakes - "What's It All About"

review by Suzanne CasazzaThe Bran Flakes continue their quirky pop mash-ups with their short but striking song, “What’s It All About” off their album I Have Hands released February 2009. The Bran Flakes’ album art features two people with giant purple paper mâchéd heads. It sets the tone for the kooky album of collage audio fun. “What’s It All About” combines samples of orchestral sounds, horns, beat boxing, Japanese singing, pop vocals, and a kicky drum line. Barely over a minute long, the song shifts about every 10 seconds or so and keeps up a fast pace of genre shifts. It begins with an upbeat horn beat, mixes in exotic-sounding Japanese vocals, and then seconds later switches to sweeping Disney-style orchestra. The song closes with a man speaking about morals and life lessons against an understated backbeat that is reminiscent of the sagacity of Baz Luhrmann’s, “Sunscreen Song.” His last words, “Your style won’t survive you, but your substance will. It is eternal, and it is what it is all about,” ends the song abruptly, and makes listeners wonder what other substance The Bran Flakes have in store. Although you can’t call I Have Hands a concept album, “What It’s All About” certainly upholds the consistently playful theme. What begins as an eclectic mix of seemingly random sounds grows on listeners and becomes infectiously zany, leaving us wondering what unexpected twist is coming next. Buy at iTunes Music StoreWhat It's All About (mp3)