Brandon Can’t Dance is a self-recorded and produced project from Philadelphia native Brandon Ayres, who self-released several albums worth of material online before being picked up by ourselves. Brandon’s music is unique and diverse, whilst hinting at a songwriting lineage absorbed through the sombre tones of Elliott Smith, the odd-ball electronics of John Maus, 90s Sub Pop inflected grunge and The Idiot-era Iggy Pop.
A reticent cult figure in Philly’s local DIY scene, Brandon Can’t Dance has shared stages playing alongside the likes of Eskimeaux, LVL UP and Alex G. It was Alex G who recommended Brandon’s music to us.
Having played in former band Rasputin’s Secret Police from when he was eleven years old, Brandon Can’t Dance began when Ayres’ started experimenting with his first loop pedal in his sophomore year of high school. “I became obsessed with looping anything I could find instrument wise”, Brandon says. “I had just got into early Magnetic Fields and Joy Division and pretty much just wanted make music that sounded like that. It was just another outlet for music that wouldn’t work for my other band.”
As time progressed, so did his songwriting prowess. Brandon began working night shifts as a security guard, giving him the time, space and solitude to create something truly unique. Brandon says: “As far as being on a totally opposite sleeping schedule from the rest of the world because of my job, it’s given me a lot of time to work stuff out, whether it be music or life and what I want to do with myself. I think a lot of my music deals with feeling alone and spending way too much time in your head.”
