From Esp?rito Santo, Brazil come some hard rock dreams indeed. This band drops 16 tracks of melodic hardcore/punk in about 25 minutes. They sound sort of like a poppier, more rocked out version of Grimple or something like that to me. The sound is raw and dirty, but the music is energetic and catchy. Some of the vocals are sung, some are delivered in a snotty high-pitched yell. Not bad at all. "Poxa!" opens up with an almost misleading dose of totally melodic pop punk with tons of background vocal harmonies and a Ramones-ish sort of feel. "Amor ? Muito Bom" is also totally upbeat pop punk, but the feel is still a lot more tactful because the band is so raw, and you can just feel that they're having a lot of fun... I do prefer the tracks that are a bit more aggressive (though still catchy), like "Just a Copy" for instance, but this is all pretty damn good. As mentioned the recording is on the rougher side, but I think it totally works here. The mix is pretty even (aside from the vocals being slightly out front), and the ruggedness really keeps their style in check and reminds you that it's all in good fun... this isn't some cheesy Blink 182 band or some shit like that by any means. Quite the opposite, in fact. The CD comes in a full color slipcase with a crayon illustration of a bird or something carrying a surfboard and walking along the beach. On the back is an insane live photo of the band, and it becomes very clear before even looking at the insert that these guys are all about having fun. The insert is printed in blue ink on white paper and contains the lyrics (handwritten), some random photos, and some amusing little illustrations to go along with the stories told in the songs. All of the lyrics are completely humorous and deal with everything from shitting, drugs, and drinking, to the band doing nothing but copying songs from Queen and the Ramones. Some songs are in Portuguese, and some are in English. "Heavy metal night! Wild on the streets! I feel so good! I drink my beer! I kiss my girl!" Get the picture? All in all this is a really solid listen, it's not exactly my thing to some degree, so I'm not sure I would listen to it regularly, but I do enjoy it.
[L?j?]
Running time - 26:13, Tracks: 16
[Notable tracks: Poxa!, Just a Copy, Pedacin, Carol, Amor ? Muito Bom]
L?j? Records - http://www.laja.com.br
