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Brendan Kelly has never been one to shy away from a strong opinion—whether it's through his lyrics, his unfiltered social media posts, or the countless records he’s put out over the years. But what happens when he turns that critical eye on himself? In honor of Red Scare Industries celebrating its 20th anniversary last year, Brendan has taken on the challenge of ranking all of his releases that came out on Red Scare, the finest of punk rock labels which he has been an undeniable part of since the start. From seminal solo efforts to full-band rippers, he’s revisiting every album, EP, and single, and—true to form—he’s not pulling any punches.

09. Brendan Kelly and the Wandering Birds “A Man With The Passion of Tennessee Williams" (digital single)

Toby wanted me to do this 7" and I said, "Man, without the context of the album this song (eponymous) is gonna be out of nowhere.”  Toby insisted, and it came out to reviews that were like, "Seriously, what the fuck is this?" which was fine.  This was a dumb idea that's only kind of saved by the fact that the actual song "I'd Rather Die Than Live Forever" (which doesn't appear on the album of the same name) is a weird unstable punk influencer or whatever.  I see no real value to this record otherwise. 

08. Brendan Kelly / Sam Russo “Split the Tip” (7” EP)

A split with Sam Russo. Toby called me at work and said "I need a song for a split with Sam Russo literally in two hours." Justin or Dan came down to the Gman (where I was bartending) and brought a modular "studio" setup. I went into the back room and improvised this song. It's recorded live and it's completely off the dome. Sam's side is good and its only downfall is that this (probably not that great, I've never listened back to it) Frangelico Houston song is shackled to the b side. So it goes. 

07. Dan Andriano in the Emergency Room / Brendan Kelly and the Wandering Birds “European Vacation” (split 7”)

Dan and I did a European tour by train in which we learned a lot about each other (examples: I'm tough like bull/vulture, and Dan's a fancy, young Little Lord Fauntleroy).  We played in the largest public toilet in the whole of what was once the British empire, we taught a cab driver in Bavaria how to yell, "You dumb dildos" at random drunk people from the safety of his cab, and we brought a little record with us to sell and commemorate the excursion.  Dan's shit is good.  My side is “The Malthusian Clown” which I deemed too weird for “I'd Rather Die Than Live Forever”.  It is too weird for that record.  The weirdness is a blessing and a curse.  Good song disguised as Billy Joel on ayahuasca, trapped in the pit of Circus Circus.  But the way it shifts and goes into "I feel like a goddamn rag doll..." is one of my fave parts in any of my songs. 

06. Brendan Kelly / Joe McMahon “Wasted Potential” (CD/LP)

Acoustic reimagining of Lawrence Arms songs on a split with Joe McMahon as a split release with Anchorless Records.  Once in Vegas I ended up sound asleep at a party and Joe fireman carried me back to my room, which is some, "I owe you for the rest of my life" shit.  When he asked me if I'd do this record with him I had no choice but to say yes.  I wanted to call it, "Okay, Now We're Even" originally, but ultimately “Wasted Potential” sums the project up better.  This introduced a lot of people to the idea that I could exist with just an acoustic guitar and a voice, and that's my favorite thing about it. 

05. The Falcon “God Don't Make No Trash” (EP)

Conceptualized in a freestyle rap next to a tour bus in Europe, recorded for zero dollars in broken-into practice spaces and on living room floors, this is the birth of The Falcon and Red Scare.  On a European tour with Rise Against, I fell so in love with Todd Mohney's style and guitar playing, that I decided I wanted to be in the world's greatest band with him and we'd be called the Falcon... BOMBASTIC shit, right?  On that tour, we played a show in Berlin with the Alkaline Trio where Dan Andriano learned about and then subsequently joined The Falcon.  Neil was there from the beginning, or he came on last... it doesn't matter, because all of us (including Neil) knew he was the drummer for The Falcon from the jump.  We got home and I told Toby that I had a new band.  He said, "If you have a band with an Alkaline Trio guy, a Rise Against guy and a Lawrence Arms guy, I'll start a label to put that shit out myself."  Next thing you know, Red Scare exists.  So I wrote these songs and we recorded them for nothing (as briefly mentioned above), and we thought it would be really funny to put a satellite on the cover because it's such a wack idea for a punk record.  Is it great?  Yes.  “Feed the Monkey” is my other contender for best Falcon song.  Does it live up to the notion of what THE FALCON was supposed to be?  Friends, it does not.  Still pretty cool though. 

04. Brendan Kelly and the Wandering Birds “Keep Walkin’ Pal” (CD/LP)

Nick and I have been recording music together on his four track since we were like 11.  This record is the culmination of that partnership and the full realization of that union, and uh...it's weird.  The last song, "I'm The Man" appeared in a slightly different form on a cassette demo we made in the early 90s: words, riff, melodies all the same.  But no one comes around telling me that "I'm The Man" is their favorite song I've ever written.  This record is exactly what it's supposed to be and it's maybe a bit too uncompromising for some, but I stand by the notion that someday in the future, this one is going to be looked back upon as a wildly ambitious, ahead-of-its-time essential album.  However, I'm writing this in 2024 and as of now, no one likes it but me and Nick, and that's having a real affect on my current opinion of it.  This is so much more focused than “I'd rather Die...” which still had me leaning into punk, since that's what people expected from me at the time that came out.  This one doesn't.  I find it freeing and cool.  To me this is music to drive at night wearing sunglasses to.  To my friend who worked at Fender who loves "I'd Rather Die…" this one doesn't have the special sauce.  He's wrong, and he'll figure it out soon enough, but for now, Richard's opinion knocks this one down to #4.

03. The Falcon “Gather Up The Chaps” (CD/LP)

I actually think I like this batch of songs more than the ones on “Unicornography” (“War of Colossus” is one of my all-time favorites). and the addition of Dave is really awesome, but this comes in below “Unicornography” because this is just an unassuming great album (even though it's got the best album cover of any of these records by FAR), whereas “Unicornography” is this Manifesto of alt-universe hits.  This album is dark and dirty... the middle breakdown in “Skeleton Dance” is a part I really love to sing and play, and I think paints a cool picture of a guy who's afraid to go into a bar because he's ashamed or uncool or too twisted up, and that's kind of this record.  It's melting horses down for glue, eating dogs to avoid starving to death, waiting for the drug dealer, being in extreme pain because he came, inhabiting the darkest recorded moment of David Hasselhoff's life, and of course Dave murdering someone a la OJ Simpson.

02. The Falcon “Unicornography” (CD/LP)

I wrote this record at the same time I was writing for “Oh! Calcutta!” and I guess it was just a good year for me, output wise.  After we did the “God Don't Make No Trash” EP, which featured Todd Mohney (of Rise Against at the time), I wanted to make a record that cashed the check that was written by the lineup and the band name, but not realized on the EP, which was cool in its own right, but hampered by outside factors (we had to record it for free using other peoples' stuff without them knowing being the main one).  Did it achieve that?  I don't know, but it definitely THINKS it did.  This record comes out swinging with possibly my favorite Falcon song, and one of the strangest, most bombastically ridiculous songs I've ever written, and really doesn't let up.  It's not my place to call anything I've made iconic, but this album really sets a foundation for what people think of as “The Falcon" and the sort of “Who gives a shit, we're so whipass shit's gonna be fine” attitude that I think often comes from the Red Scare corner of the punk rock world by containing a bunch of songs that sound like they really think they're super iconic.  Again, I'm not saying this is an iconic album at all.  Most people have never even heard it.  But the songwriting choices make it sound like the greatest hits record of a dangerously unhinged and self important gang of maniacs, and that was kind of the idea.

01. Brendan Kelly and the Wandering Birds “I'd Rather Die Than Live Forever” (CD/LP)

For a lot of reasons, this is my favorite record I've done on Red Scare and a serious contender for my favorite record I've ever been on across the board.  I like the weird darkness of it, and the trashiness, and the overall playfully menacing vibe.  Though it sounds like its own weird thing, there are a lot of unexpected influences here including Guns N’ Roses, Violent Femmes, Tyler the Creator, Beastie Boys, Mean Streets, the Harvard Diving Team Alumni, Dead Milkmen, The Cars, “Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer”, an interview with Brian Fallon that I read a while back, drugs, crime, fuckin’, and so forth.  I don't think there's a stinker on this album, and it's aided in no small part by the fact that it was produced by a hippy and an EDM beatmaker, neither of whom had even the most passing interest in anything I've ever done before musically.  As always, Nick Martin is the secret weapon here.  This band should be called Nick Martin and his dipshit friend, but my vast public relations team decided that BK and the Wandering Birds had a little more PR appeal.