Album Review: Bonde do Role

Bonde do Role eat their young.

Given the ‘Pac-man’ synth on the second song (Solta O Frango) and the way that the clean guitar chords that open the fourth track (Tieta) sound suspiciously like the snooker theme tune, it’s certainly a fair comparison – you’re not entirely sure if it’s electronica, rock, hip hop or something else entirely.

Office Boy, the first single, has more for the popular listener - prominent rhythm, lead guitar sounds and drum machine, as well as a catchy vocal melody, and even a charged sequence of female moans at the end. Those foreign accents must be irresistible for women after all.

aggressive Portuguese lyrics are delivered over the drums in a way that puts you in mind of short Latino women in immaculate white sportswear and angled caps

This heralds a less experimental sounding second half, with a few tracks almost sounding like British dance tunes, futuristic synthesisers hum over strong, repetitive drum and bass. This goes hand in hand with an increase in the hip hop sound – the way the aggressive Portuguese lyrics are delivered over the drums puts you in mind of short Latino women in immaculate white sportswear and angled caps. This is less interesting to me than the more rocky or electronic portions of the album, but that’s simply personal taste, and anyway, the final few tracks bring back the Gorillaz-like genre-meld.

Later track Caminhao de Gas has what sounds like a stadium of samba drums backing droning vocals and instruments I can only describe as ‘fuzzy trumpets’ while album ender Bondallica enters with a heavily distorted guitar riff that would blend into the scenery at a Metallica gig.

Overall, the album sounds cohesive despite the variety of genres showcased. No matter how much you might think that samba drums would clash with electro-synths, nothing ever seems to sound out of place. It’s very odd and very, very good. Try it, and I’d bet that you’d be pleasantly surprised.

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