Barbie Bones take a lot of risks on this CD, combining alternative rock with everything from punk, funk, and jazz to Indian raga. And those risks pay off; the material is quirky and eccentric, but it's also infectious and rockin'.
Barbie Bones can be self-indulgent, although never to the point of being off-putting. So why didn't
Brake for Nobody sell, and why did a band this interesting fall through the cracks? One can only speculate. Perhaps
Barbie Bones was, from a commercial standpoint, too adventurous for its own good. And some might argue that the album was simply a victim of timing; when
Brake for Nobody came out in 1990, alternative rock wasn't nearly as big as it would become after Nirvana and
Pearl Jam exploded commercially in 1992 and 1993. But then, it isn't as though every alternative band active in 1990 was starving; if you define
R.E.M., U2, Jane's Addiction, the Sugarcubes, and
Faith No More as alternative, you would have to say that certain alternative acts were, in fact, enjoying commercial success in 1990. At any rate,
Brake for Nobody is a rewarding debut that should have done a lot better. ~ Alex Henderson